"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.
Showing posts with label yucca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yucca. Show all posts

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Desert star--8 days to Christmas

"Desert Star," 5 x 7 watercolor Christmas greeting card

Desert
dwellers know the stars.

It's no accident that much of astronomy as we know it began in the desert.

Muslim inhabitants of north Africa and the Middle East  followed the stars--in cold clear nights where they became beacons...and science.

Go to the desert southwest of New Mexico and see how the Anasazi at Chaco Canyon, and elsewhere, studied the stars... .

Our urban world has lost the stars, through light pollution, through indifference and technology...but

We've also lost magic, and a sense of eternity, and humility, and spirituality.

That's why the fabled star of the New Testament's Middle Eastern skies matters...a signal more important today that there is much more to life than our materialistic, self-centered so-called "universe."

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Blues are also colors of Christmas

"Starlight," 5 x 7 watercolor card
Blues. I use more blues in painting than any other. Don't know why.
As my three month individual Christmas card watercolor challenge continues, this one reflects my love for the Southwest, for the big skies, for the iconic yucca.
Blues used: Royal, Ultramarine, Peacock.
And I found out this week that the color for the name "Terry" is blue. Hmm.

Friday, August 10, 2018

Desert dreams

"Evening Star," 8 x 10 watercolor, 140 lb. d'Arches cold press paper