Saguaro Spirit

"Saguaro Spirit"
pencil sketch

 I'm back!  I have done a few sketches in my (online) absence, and these are the most recent ones.  Today begins the renewal of my goal of drawing every day.  "Saguaro Spirit" is a free-hand, no reference sketch.  I was thinking of my horse, Lola, and how she often peers out of her stall down towards the pasture and the pond at the bottom.  My spirit horses seem to be the most unique and fun expression of my style, so I will probably be spending a lot more time on them.  I will eventually translate this from quick sketches to large paintings.  This style and subject would have great presence in a larger format.

"Thinking of Dali's Elephants"
pen sketch

I'd like to say that the disproportionate conformation of this horse was intentional, but it was purely accident.  My brain was probably shocked that I was asking it to draw again.  As you can see, head, neck, and body are all proportionate to one another- but something disconnected when it came to drawing the legs.  They became elongated and large, a grown horse with foal's legs.  However, it is not an unpleasant effect, and perhaps even benefits the drawing with artistic license.  I may try to replicate the style on purpose in the near future.

Cliff and Cloud: Photos of the American Southwest (Part 2)

Bighorn Sheep Lamb at Zion National Park

Cliff and Cloud: Photos of the American Southwest (Part 1)

Two weeks ago, I traveled to Las Vegas with my dearest friend and partner.  Las Vegas itself was not the main attraction for us, but rather the amazing natural surroundings nearby.  We spent two days on, in, and around the Grand Canyon's South Rim.  My Nikon D300 made the trip with us, and I fancied myself an Ansel Adams in the making.  The light was so clear and bright that I rarely took a photo below an aperture setting of f/16.  I had my camera on manual focus except when I saw interesting birds or animals that I feared I wouldn't be fast enough to capture.  Most of my photos were taken while hiking, which was an awe-inspiring experience both on the Bright Angel Trail and later when we traveled to Zion National Park and hiked (almost) to Angel's Landing.  It's difficult to acknowledge such huge landscapes as reality, especially coming from the tree-carpeted Northeast.  What I found even more difficult was successfully conveying the immensity of the earth and the sense of just how small you are in such a landscape.  I found it exhilarating to stand in the dry desert air and know just how much beauty there was for me to discover.

Our hike began with a thunderstorm that left hail on the trail.  All the hail had melted by the time we hiked back up.

Western scrub jay

If you want to camp at the bottom of the canyon, you can hire mules to carry your gear.

This was a very friendly spiny lizard that ran between my legs as I was photographing it.  We also saw many less cooperative whiptails.

Looking down at Indian Garden.

Courting spiny lizards.

Saw a swallow narrowly avoid being dinner for two peregrine hawks right after taking this photo!