Week 59

Hot. Red hot earth surrounds us as the warm wind passes over our backs like tumble weeds. There was a foreboding warning at the starting mark for our hike to the Lighthouse : Do not attempt if you do not have at least 1 gallon of water per person. Already periodically carting our little girl, we thought that is a heavy load for a 6 mile hike. Nevertheless we started out, a small cloud of red dust following behind our happy trail. The landscape was incredible, a beautiful playground of color, all made bright by a big Texas sky. There were scant others on our trail, which along with the perfect light and other worldly terrain, made the photos we were taking come easily.

The few miles took us most of the day. There was two very treacherous climbs to get to the actual Lighthouse formation, done with our little strapped in the backpack. The sights were breathtaking. After a final encounter with a rattlesnake, we headed back down the trail home. My umbrella, though unconventional and a little strange in the desert, provided shade the whole way back. This image was taken very close to the end of our hike, when nap time had passed and the heat and day's exertion was really taking it's toll. Her daddy carries her in his strong arms, she holds on nuzzling into his neck letting the peace come.

To achieve the radiating heat, we prepped our panel with copper paint. You can see it peeking through, even in the sky. I knew this was critical to preserve. Initially I mixed my colors almost exactly as I saw them in our image. But then, I had to change it to a different set of colors to work with the tones underneath, never totally covering that layer to get the color and depth.

Beautiful are the moments when we relax fully into loving arms. Beautiful when we can provide them.

"The Long Road Home"

30x24 | Oil on Panel