For the last couple of months I haven't had the time or energy to do much painting. Just a few days after our trip to Big Sur, Maureen got bucked off of Zim and broke seven ribs. She spent a few days in the hospital and then had to go back for a few more days weeks later. She was in a great deal of pain and was not able to do very much for a long time. She has very slowly recovered and now is doing all right but still taking pain meds and using oxygen most of the time. So I recently got back to my painting, and did this scene from Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. On our October, 2023 trip, we stopped there on our way from Capitol Reef to Moab and found it to be a very interesting place with lots of colorful rocks. There was a little valley filled with hundreds of hoodoos that we could wander among. There were some kids climbing on the rocks, and one of them is in this painting.
I've been thinking about some of the special places that I have known in the High Sierra. One of them near the top of my list is Pioneer Basin. One thing that all of those places have in common is that they are not easy to get to. This one is no exception, being a couple-days hike in from Rock Creek over 12,000 ft. Mono Pass. I first visited it with my dad in 1967. I was young and full of energy, but dad was in his 50's and found it hard but he really enjoyed the spectacular location. I visited it once again in 2008 with my friend, Gerald, and this time it was I who was finding it hard going.
After finishing one painting of Pioneer Basin, I wanted to try another. I chose to do a repeat of a scene that I painted several years ago. I thought that maybe I would be able to improve on my earlier painting, but it turned out to be very similar and in some ways not as good. Anyway, I enjoyed doing it and that's what really matters.
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