Autumn Revisited

When one lives in the desert, one must give up certain things in exchange for other, hopefully equally good things.

Fall colors are one of those things. We have some trees and shrubs that change color -- cottonwood trees, when they occur, are an example -- but mostly, the view looks pretty much the same all year round.

So last weekend, The Wiffee and I went up into the mountains; specifically, a place called Big Bear. The mountains in this area do have native trees that turn to yellow, albeit not a bright yellow. But the oak trees that are planted along the streets can be magnificent!

One of the streets in the Village area. It looked better in real life than in the picture, but you can see examples of colorful trees!

We parked under this bee-you-tee-full oak tree. The Wiffee even collected some of the leaves.

We ate lunch at The Old Country Inn, which makes the BEST pumpkin soup in the universe! We've made this pilgrimage an annual tradition -- our wedding anniversary is 19 October, but we drove to Big Bear on the 20th so we'd have more time to relax, have fun and eat pumpkin soup!

Now...what does this have to do with desert paintings, you may be asking yourself? Well, nothing, really. I don't know if I'd ever do paintings of the Big Bear area. But it was sure a nice escape for a day.

But now it's time to return to working on some non-autumnal desert art!

Three Little Desert Paintings

I recently entered a show that takes place in Tucson, AZ this fall. I haven't heard yet if I've been accepted, but I hope at least one of these three little desert paintings will get me in!

I say "little" because each of them is 11" x 14"/28cm x 36cm.

This first piece is a place we saw while cruising around the reservation (we're not sure if it was the Navajo or the Hopi rez) in Arizona. Obviously, we were in a part of the painted desert. I think the locals are fortunate to be able to live surrounded by such beauty

And then I found this view right alongside the road as I entered Saguaro National Park near Tucson, AZ. (I don't remember if this was in the western or eastern portion of the Park). All of those palo verde "shrubs" have grown quite a bit and are now trees. The scene is not as open today as it was all those years ago.

Finally, here we have another version of one of my favorite views in the world in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ, looking south toward the Sonoyta Mountains of Mexico. I'd build my house here if I could!

I hope I hear from the show soon. You know how anxious waiting can be. Wish me luck!