Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Sedona Splendor




Sedona I
Oil on canvas, 10x10
Tubac Trip painting no. 13

For years, people have told me that Sedona is beautiful, magnificent, awe-inspiring - but the descriptions have pretty much stopped there. 
As I was driving here from Tubac, I began to wonder. I saw lots of beautiful scenery, with hills and wildflowers and saguaro cacti - but there was nothing more lovely than the gorgeous stuff I'd seen near Tubac. 
The highway climbed and climbed. At one point, a sign warned drivers to shut off their air conditioning to keep their cars from overheating on the 5-mile climb that was to come. 
Three thousand feet. Four thousand. A high meadow, with that feeling of being in the air. Big birds soaring. I was about 20 miles from Sedona, and while it was lovely, I was still waiting. 
From the highway, I got a glimpse, and I felt myself speed up. I got off the road, and onto the side road. 
First curve. 
Second curve. 
Third curve - and there is was. In the distance, incredible red, striated rock formations, spiring up into the sky, marvelous chimneys and steeples rising from their bulky bases. The colors took my breath away, against the blue sky and the setting sun, and I tore along looking for a place to pull over to paint. 
I have only seen the start of the beauty that is here, I know, and will spend today tracking up and down hills, down and back on side roads, awe-struck, looking for places where I can pull off and paint. 
I can't wait! 

My painting in the landscape

***
Scenes from the Day


Many of the overpasses are decorated, with tiles on the walls, or colored rocks arranged in patterns on the slopes going down to the roadways. 


 Here are Dad and Paula, saying goodbye in front of their house in Tubac.



I saw lots of cacti and flowers on the drive from Tubac to Sedona.

The start of the beautiful scenery around Sedona. 





A gorgeous end to a gorgeous afternoon. 


Here's Annie, the Dog of the Day. Her owners found her wandering around a Wal-Mart parking lot. She is a sweetie, who puts up with her buddy below, a spazzy Corgi whose name I can't remember. 





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