the very large triptych, part 3 ~ discovering the landscape

On April first 2023 I began my immersion into the panoramic landscape. RAS would be back in Santa Fe later in the month, when we’d sign an agreement for the very large triptych commission. Although they graciously invited me to go out to their place whenever I wanted, I was reluctant to go on their property until we had a signed agreement. Yet I was eager to acquaint myself more deeply with the land and sky I’d be painting. So I ventured out as close as I could get: I went into the Caja.

When you look west from Santa Fe to the Jemez Mountains and Los Alamos, you gaze across the vast pinon- and juniper-dotted high desert of the Caja del Rio. I’ve written about this sacred, vital, and beloved land in my blog post history and mystery in the new mexico landscape. The main access point to the Caja from Santa Fe involves driving through Las Campanas to the long washboarded dirt Old Buckman Road. Late in the day, and especially on weekends, the road becomes a band of dust as pickup trucks loaded with ATVs speed on their way to the trails honey-combing the hills of the Caja.

In early spring there wasn’t much color to the earth and sky out there, nor were there interesting clouds. Yet it was still satisfying to be out there among pinon and juniper and ravens under the big blue dome.

And, as I discovered on my several excursions in early April, as nightfall approaches and the motorized traffic and dust settle down, if you’re paying attention, enchantment emerges…

Cervus canadensis: Elk, also known as “wapiti,” which, I just learned from professor Wiki, come from the Shawnee and Cree word for “white rump.”

After each excursion I returned home to review my photos and make notes and watercolors in my VLT journal….

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This is part three of a several part series:

the very large triptych, part one ~ the request
the very large triptych, part two ~ the proposal
the very large triptych, part three ~ discovering the landscape **
the very large triptych, part four ~ experiencing sky
the very large triptych, part five ~ painting the studies
the very large triptych, part six ~ new studio & first strokes
the very large triptych, part seven ~ the big reveal

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