"Layers of the Palo Duro" 16" x 16"

One day I was hiking the CCC Trail at Palo Duro Canyon when I came upon this beautiful view. I was struck by the fact that I could see layers of the canyon receding far into the distance. I could also see layers of rock exposed on the nearest face of the canyon wall that were built up over a vast amount of time. Again, I was looking at layers of the canyon - these layers receding far into distant ages. What stories they could tell! I had to paint it!

"Window on the Canyon" 10" x 20"

Another painting from Palo Duro Canyon . . . At the base of towering canyon walls lies evidence of an ongoing process of erosion that is steadily enlarging the size of what is already the second largest canyon in the United States. These rocks landed in the formation of a tiny "room". I can imagine that this small space which draws visiting children to play today also drew generations of Native American children to play and enjoy the view from this "window".

Canyon Afterglow, 10" x 20"

A move to the Texas panhandle several years ago brought with it a change of scenery and gave me the desire to record the beauty of the new landscape around me - the canyons, the wide open spaces and vast skies. Palo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo and Canyon, TX, has become one of my favorite places to paint in the great outdoors of Northwest Texas. I find that early morning and late afternoon in the canyon provide some of the most dramatic and beautiful lighting effects to be found anywhere. In the late afternoon, light rays from the descending sun hit the colorful layers of rock that comprise the Eastern canyon walls and cause them to glow in bright oranges and yellows. And at the close of the day, soft shadows cast by the Western canyon rim slowly but steadily draw the curtain on that evening's spectacular light show.