North to Show Low & Beyond ... Ponderosas Aplenty..

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”

Click here to make this Your Own

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 those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As 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 …

… National Forest …

… & 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 1^st 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 4^th, 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.

End of a fine day in the Forest.

Venus above …

… 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.

Still in the Valley of the Gods.

Monday, 19^th January_Tuesday, 23^rd January, 2018; 

Valley of the Gods, near Mexican Hat, Utah.

C1656

“Evening Light on Setting Hen Butte & Rooster Rock”

(Utah)

Oil Sketch on Centurian Oil Primed Panel

4” x 6”

Click here to make this Your Own

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As 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.)

I switched to a new campsite on Friday night, after photo-recon throughout the afternoon.  The late afternoon sun was warm, and the night warmer than many a day.  I’d been hearing weather reports for a couple of days, one from Flagstaff forecasting snow beginning at 6 AM, Saturday, the other from Salt Lake City for snow as well; Flagstaff lies roughly 200 miles to the southwest, and Salt Lake City about 300 to the north.  Saturday morning was overcast, still warmish, but by afternoon the wind was picking up, and out of the northwest.  During the day I went down to Mexican Hat to top up with petrol.  They assured me that we would get only a dusting, if that, but up on top of the mesa up Moki Dugway, there would be more, but not even a couple inches.  “We are in a bubble here; the weather goes around us.” One of the women said.

Mexican Hat.

Moki Dugway.

Monument Valley from near Muley Point.

Balancing Rock, or is it the Woman in a Tub?

I went up Moki Dugway, and then left to Muley Point, where I thought I might find a snug campsite tucked away among the Junipers & Pinion Pines somewhere up there, but the wind was quite strong and cold, so I decided to go back down to last night’s camp.  The wind had picked up down there as well, and too strong to use my little stove.  I thought that at sundown it might ease, and sure enough it did, and a cold supper was avoided.  The cloud also cleared away, but by Sunday morning it was windy with a vengeance, and there was a very light dusting  of snow, here and there in patches (had to look hard to see that it wasn’t frost), and up on the clifftops, a thousand to 1500 feet above there was more of a covering.  It was generally clear, and the Sun melted it all off, even though it remained cold.

I got on with my third painting, in Valley of the Gods.  Some kind of Hawk patrolled the wash below my camp, a flock of Scrub Jays chirped past, and another time Oregon Juncos worked their way through the few Junipers nearby.  Funny how you can go for a whole day seeing no birdlife, except the usual pair of Ravens that always seem present, and then the next day, seemingly loads a’ birds appear.

Passing shower;
overnight there was a dusting of snow,
but up on the plateau was about 4 inches.

Evening light after the shower.

Rooster Rock to the left,
Franklin Butte, right.

I think the butte to right of center looks like
either a Llama or a happy oversized dog with its tail up,
and eager to please.

Ice in the wash.

Thankfully by sundown the wind dropped enough for me to cook supper under the Winter stars.  In the northwest Vega was setting, with Deneb soon to follow, while in the southeast, Orion, was lying on his back, and below his feet Lepus, the Hare, had cleared the horizon, and then Sirius, the brightest of Stars, popped into view above the mesa top … one minute nothing, and then ‘pop,’ there was Sirius.  After the cloud of yesterday and the snow flurries had passed away, the heavens were especially clear, and the Winter stars achingly bright.  What modern man has lost!  Seeing these myriad stars night after night, and becoming intimate with their ways was something we were all familiar with, once upon a time in the long ago.

The new snow up on Cedar Mesa;
Mossback Butte on the right.

Sippapu Bridge,
Natural Bridges National Monument.

The Bears Ears.

On the road to Blanding from Natural Bridges;
the Abajo Mountains in the distance.

The Pigments used in the painting:

Imprimatura: Rublev Ercolano Red;

Drawing: Rublev Ercolano Red;

Pigments: W&N Cerulean, Cobalt & Ultramarine Deep Blues, Cadmiums Yellow Pale and Orange, Venetian Red;

Rublev: Ercolano Red, Purple Ochre, Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Orange Molybdate, Lead White #2.

In the Valley of the Gods.

Monday, 15^th January_Tuesday, 19^th January, 2018; Valley of the Gods, near Mexican Hat, Utah.

C1657

“Afternoon in the Valley of the Gods”

(Utah)

Oil Sketch on Pannelli Telati on fine cotton Panel

5” x 7”

Click here to make this Your Own

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As 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.)

The first evening in the Valley of the Gods there was a very good Sunset.  Facing south I watched the glowing colours silhouette the buttes and mesas of Monument Valley, on the horizon some twenty miles away. The formations in the Valley of the Gods caught the rays of the evening Sun, as the blue shadows gradually climbed up their flanks to finally extinguish the last of the rosy light.  In the gloaming the odd headlight would appear on the distant highway coming from Mexican Hat, hidden from view in the folds of the Earth eleven miles distant.  There was even one that dropped down the continuous curves of the Moki Dugway, a preposterous road that climbs 1700 feet to the top of the mesa bordering the Valley, leading eventually to Natural Bridges National Monument.  Moki Dugway was built years ago to transport uranium ore down to a smelter (now gone), in Mexican Hat.  Looking at those Cliffs, one would not think a road could be built up them, but those pesky highwaymen can do astonishing things when they’ve a mind to.

First view of the Valley of the Gods,
from the Highway.

Monument Valley in silhouette
against the evening sky, from my campsite.

North from camp at evening.

Morning on the Setting Hen Butte & Rooster Rock …
I think the rooster is name more for its proximity to the hen.

Pre-dawn glow,
about 10 minutes before actual sunrise.

First light on the cliffs.

After getting on with some painting today (the days are still too short, but getting longer), I was preparing supper in the twilight, when a movement on the ground caught my eye, startling me.  I jumped, and the little beastie ran off, or I should say, hopped off, as it turned out to be a Kangaroo Rat.  He kept hopping about in my direction several times as if to saying, “come out to play, Steve;” bold little tyke.  I believe he was looking for morsels amongst the stony ground, as he did stop and seemed to find something every so often.  I did get a couple of slightly blurry photos … it was darkening by this time … I should have tried the flash, but I keep forgetting I have that option on this camera.  Supper prepared, I left him to his machinations, while I retired to the truck to eat as the evening was rapidly cooling.  No rat the next night … I wonder if they come out most nights, even at this time of the year?  Probably not.

Blurry shot of Kangaroo Rat.

Ice on the creek.

Further into the Valley.

The prow of Battleship Rock.

Battleship Rock …
it must’ve been named before
the modern cruise liners were built!

New Moon.

The Pigments used in the painting:

Imprimatura: Rublev Ercolano Red;

Drawing: Rublev Ercolano Red;

Pigments: W&N Cerulean, Cobalt & Ultramarine Deep Blues, Cadmiums Yellow Pale and Orange, Venetian Red;

Rublev: Ercolano Red, Purple Ochre, Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Orange Molybdate, Lead White #2.

In the Valley of the Gods

C1497

“Dawn at Battleship Butte”

(Valley of the Gods, Utah)

Oil Sketch on Centurion Oil Primed Linen Panel

5” x 7”

Click here to make this your Own

On 14^th October, I heard that Utah had provided funds to open some of its National Parks, even though the majority in the country were still shut; it was time to head for the Red Rocks Country.  I passed by a tightly closed Mesa Verde (still in Colorado), but decided that I would return if I hadn’t travelled too far west by the time the Government shut-down ended.  And so on to Utah and spent the first night in Recapture Pocket.  There were a few distant lights, but only a few several miles away; there had been none from my first forest road campsite, nor in American Basin; I will return to Recapture Pocket in another post. 

Passing through Bluff, UT I proceeded down to Mexican Hat, topped up with petrol, and backtracked seven miles to the start of the Valley of the Gods loop.  Desert showers came past with the lowering Sun casting an eerie light, and about 10 miles into the Valley I chose my campsite.  A waxing gibbous Moon rose above the red cliffs, so different from the High Rockies only a couple days before; and no artificial lights to be seen!

There were rabbits here (surprising how they seem to be everywhere you go), and I saw tracks of smaller creatures in the sand, and a coyote scat near the rim of the small arroyo nearby.  The odd vulture wheeled overhead during the day, and Mr. Raven & his wife occasionally made a visit.  I was not sure what wildlife I might or might not see in this desert landscape.

Before dawn I arose and readied myself for the painting above; no sign of the showers that had greeted me the night before.  The faintest butte & chimney are in Monument Valley, in Arizona, scene of many a western film.  I wanted to capture the foreground still in the cool shadow with the butte bathed in the early morning light.  Ochres were the base, but this subject allowed Cadmium Red and Vermilion to make an entrance as well.  The greens or the most part were mixed greens, but I added a bit of Chromium Oxide Green to the palette as well. 

The imprimatura was Venetian Red, and the pigments used in the main painting were: Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, Vermilion, Cadmium Red Pale, Naples Yellow (hue), Chromium Oxide Green, Cobalt & Cerulean Blues, Cremnitz & Titanium Whites.