Monday,
February 19, 2018 to Monday, March 12th; Tonto National Forest, Arizona.
C1665
“Evening Gold
over Monument Valley”
(from
Valley of the Gods, Utah)
Oil Study on Centurion Oil Primed Panel
5” x 7”
I've wanted to get this evening sky study
completed and posted, ever since I saw it from the Valley of the Gods, back in
January. Monument Valley is about twenty
miles distant.
(Take Note: for
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this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you
should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post,
and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog
itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)
This
part of the Tonto National Forest (I’m unfamiliar with the forest elsewhere),
25 miles north of Globe, Arizona, has a certain charm about it; I suspect part
of that is because it is quite new to me.
The forest cover is primarily Junipers and Pinions, but there are
occasional deciduous trees that seem not to have lost their leaves, and some
that have … I never did identify those retaining their leaves, but those
without were mostly Cottonwoods. The
Pinion Pines seemed different from those further north, enough so that I was
unsure for quite awhile that's what they were, but their identity was confirmed
for me by a couple from Globe, whom I met near the end of my stay. That stay turned out to be just short of
three weeks. I did not plan on staying
that long, but since I had an intermittent internet connection, I was able to
periodically check the weather, which indicated snow events back up on the
Mogollon Rim, every few days, so I stayed where there was only a slight chance
of rain, and there was almost none.
 |
| Apache Peaks … |
 |
| … in the Tonto … |
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| … National Forest … |
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| … & with Big Skies. |
In
this forest, interspersed amongst the Junipers and Pinions, I would come across
interesting cacti, other than the Prickly Pears, that I have gotten used to all
the way from Nebraska, last June, throughout my travels. Of course down here
those Prickly Pears can be magnificent specimens.
 |
| Magnificent, eh? [Prickly Pear]. |
 |
| Some sort of Barrel Cactus, I expect. |
The
first few days of my stay, I shared the forest with Javelina (also known as
Peccaries), hunters. I never heard a
shot, and I never saw any sign, so it appears those pesky Peccaries were
keeping a low profile. They resemble a
small wild pig, but I understand they are of the rodent family … I never would
have suspected. They can be dangerous
when cornered, but otherwise inadvertently so, as since they have poor
eyesight, and panic easily, as a herd, what may look like an assault is more
likely to be them panicking and not seeing you, and thus are accidently running
your way. Still, that doesn't help you if
you are on the receiving end of one of their tusks, and I'm sure that there are
those that will say that an attack was intentional. Personally, I always had my bear spray to
hand when out for a stroll. I remember
learning about them at about six or seven years of age from the book “The
Living Desert,” I got from the Weekly Reader Book Club. That was the book from the Walt Disney
documentary of the same name. After the
hunters left I pretty much had the forest to myself, other than the odd local
rancher, about his business.
 |
Is a one-horn steer similar to a
one-eyed Jack?
|
 |
| Southern Pacific 4-6-0 in Globe, Arizona. |
Because
the forest is rather sparse and the trees are not tall, the night sky is much in
evidence, and since I was further south than I have ever been, thus there were
stars identified that I have never seen before.
The jewel in the crown of these is Canopus, the second brightest star in
the heavens, after Sirius. Serendipitously,
Canopus is almost directly below, Sirius, but only a few degrees above the southern
horizon at its highest. Because of its very
low altitude, as seen from my camp, it does not look to be the second brightest
star in the heavens, although it is very noticeable.
On the 1st of March I spotted Venus
low in the West, quite unexpectedly.
Although I knew its evening apparition had begun, I thought it would
still be too low for my horizon. But
there it was, and on that night Mercury was also seen below it and to the
right. I watched Mercury, passing Venus over
the next few evenings as it moved above Venus; Mercury is a rapid planet, thus
it’s name. And the
first of March was a noteworthy evening all around, as I watched the Moon
rising seemingly out from the peak of a mountain to the east, Venus setting in
the west, and Canopus glowing a few degrees above the southern horizon, with
Sirius blazing high above it! I watched
until Venus dropped behind the slope of the nearby mountain … poof, and it was gone! Nice to have Venus back in the evening sky,
as the last I saw it there was a year ago on my brother's birthday on March 4th,
in St, Paul, Minnesota. Of course I had watched
Venus in the dawn skies in November/December, while breakfasting at my campsite
outside Arches National Park.
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| End of a fine day in the Forest. |
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| Venus above … |
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| … with Mercury below. |
Two
days ago I left my Tonto National Forest campsite, and headed north through the
Apache reservations of San Carlos and White Mountains. The two are separated by the Canyon of the
Salt River. This astounding canyon took
me completely by surprise, when I dropped down off the Mogollon Rim three weeks
ago today. I did not expect the vistas
that opened up as I encountered it for the first time! It is a long way down to the river and a long
way back up on the other side.
 |
| Salt River Canyon … |
 |
| … on the way down to the Tonto N. F., … |
 |
| … when
the lighting was better than on the way back. |
The
last two nights have been in the Ponderosas southeast of Show Low, and today I
am posting this from the Show Low library.
Immediately after I “get ‘er done,” I will be heading for the Grand
Canyon, via Sedona and Flagstaff, arriving there before the expected snow event
later this week (hopefully). I’d like to
see the Grand Canyon in the snow. Of
course the Show Low library Wi-Fi acted up, so this is being posted from
Payson, a day later.
The
Pigments used in the painting:
Imprimatura:
none;
Drawing:
none;
Pigments:
W&N Cobalt and Ultramarine Deep Blues, Cadmiums Orange & Yellow Pale;
Rublev: Ercolano Red, Purple Ochre, Blue Ridge Yellow
Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, Orange Molybdate & Lead White #2.
