2008 Along the Road

I made my trip that year 2008, to teach in California at UCSB. I thought from the beginning I'd paint and make a thing of the whole trip.

Here first in Monument Valley.

I discovered her that I could photograph the stars, Orion at 5 am, here if you enlarge by clicking.

It was really hot, above 100 when I was ready to leave and decided to go via the Grand Canyon's north rim which is at 9,000 ft, so it would be cooler.

I took off  through Zion National Park from there, 

and back into the heat of Nevada. 

I was on my way to Deep Springs College where I used to teach, and there was the first glimpse of the Sierra Nevada mountains into California.

When I got to my class I was helping to teach -- there was a huge forest fire in progress.

Michael Drury

Hank Pitcher

I drove up to Big Sur with my friend. They own property there and we camped and painted on it.

From Big Sur I traced my way back to Yosemite where I have painted many times, since my first visit in the 1980's. I began to paint the scene in oil paint on pretty large canvases in 1990.

I had stayed too long and had to get back, so made a bee line to NM on the Interstate.

Back in New Mexico the best clouds were happening and so from the force of the last month I kept on painting, some of my best in New Mexico .