Arivaca, Arizona - and Painting with Dad

Arivaca, Arizona

Oil on canvas, 12x24

Dad is 84, and he's been painting for maybe 10 years, maybe more. For most of that time, he's done watercolors, but recently has moved into acrylics. 

Until Tuesday, he'd never painted in plein air! So I was thrilled - thrilled! - when he agreed to go out painting with me. 

We had a great time bouncing along a terrible road to a teeny town called Arivaca. Dad says it was settled in the 1960s and 1970s by people whose main pursuits were hiding from the law and selling drugs, maybe not in that order. 

These days, it's an eclectic, dusty little town, broken down in places, and kept up in places. 

While we didn't see any drug activity, it did seem that everyone in town smoked cigarettes. Haven't seen that in a while. 

A furniture designer and artist named Peter Saloom (check out his furniture by cicking here) rode by on a bike and stopped to see what we were doing. An awful lot of folks drove by and then sort of turned around and drove by again... I am sure they were wondering just what the HECK we were painting...

At any rate, I had a great idea: Dad and I should do a show together! What do you think? 

Here's Dad and his painting, which is at a midway point

Above is the building we both painted, and below is the building I added on the left-hand 

side of my painting. 

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Scenes from the day

Here is some of the scenery on the way to Arivaca

 An Arivaca vaca (isn't that Spanish for cow?) 

At the restaurant where we had lunch, the walls of the patio held several large mosaics 

made of bottle caps! 

 Sunrise Tuesday in Tubac

Anyone want to buy a restaurant? 

Why this burrito wagon has a sign saying "Virginia," I do not know. 

Yee Ha! Cow Palace! 

Casper, the Dog of the Day

Las Cruces Mountains

Las Cruces Mountains

Oil on canvas, 10x10

Tubac Trip Painting No. 9

I cheered when I crossed into Arizona! 

I cheered when I got off of Interstate 10! 

I cheered when I arrived in Tubac! 

I cheered when I saw my dad and Paula! 

It is great to be here, to have made it here safe and sound, and to be welcomed by family, in a house and place I know. 

According to the Chamber of Commerce, Tubac has probably been inhabited for 11,000 years. There were mammoths and mammoth hunters here, then Pima and native O’odham, then Spanish settlers and Jesuits. 

Apache invasions changed the status quo, and new alliances formed between the Spanish and Pima Indians. Franciscans replaced Jesuits, and the place quieted down. 

The Chamber says that "Tubac’s most famous person was soldier and explorer Capt. Juan Bautista de Anza II. During his tenure at Tubac (1760-1776), Anza built the chapel of Santa Gertrudis, the foundations of which lie beneath today’s. Anza’s second expedition to the Pacific coast departed from Tubac October 23, 1775. It included approximately 300 soldiers and colonists, and culminated with the founding of San Francisco."

Today, Tubac centers around a golf course and golf resort, and has a lovely downtown with lots of interesting shops, restaurants and galleries. 

The last time I was here, the parking lot at a restaurant where we were dining contained three cars, five golf carts and a horse. 

I will take photos of Tubac today and post them tomorrow. 

My painting in the landscape

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Scenes from the day

Here's a photo of the mountains I painted Monday morning, just west of Las Cruces, NM

                                   

A little ways past Las Cruces, all traffic was stopped so that inspectors could inspect, and the drug dog could sniff. He looks serious - and I am sure he's good at his job - but he was also very friendly.

Cactus in flower in Arizona

YAY! 

Throughout Arizona, signs warned of possible dust storms and, yes, zero visibility. Wow. 

I was welcomed twice. 

A ways into Arizona, the earth turned yellow. It didn't stay that was for long, but it was pretty amazing.

                       

Above, the mountains outside Deming, NM, on Monday. Below, my painting of the same mountains from a few years ago. Cool, huh? 

I saw TONS of trains throughout New Mexico and Arizona

Saguaro cactus, finally! 

These are the mountains on the road from Tucson to Tubac

 Dog of the Day! It's Bob, one of the cutest dogs ever. Here, he's being held by his dad Gary. They are on their way to LA with ... Clint? ... Gary's partner. 

Miles and Miles (and Miles) of Texas

Near Winnie, Texas

Oil on canvas, 10x10

Tubac Trip Painting No. 8

 I believe I have found the longest road in the world. 

It's Interstate 10, and in addition to wherever else it goes, it runs for 879 miles IN Texas. 

I drove for the entire day Saturday in Texas, stopping only to paint, to get gas, to smush the roof of the van into an overhang at Starbucks (cosmetic damage only, and easily fixed, I think), and to make this painting. 

Aside from that, I drove for 11 hours, all in Texas, and I have hours and hours and miles and miles of Texas to go today. 

I will say that this route is more interesting than the one I drove the last time I was in Texas. At least here, there are hills and even mountains. The landscape does change, if at a snail's pace. 

In those miles and miles and miles of Texas, I did see lovely old abandoned farms. I saw a huge new power line going up. I saw a wind farm, about a dozen BBQ joints, and the beginnings of what looks like The West. 

I saw a small group of Texas longhorns at the side of the road, and doubled back to take some photos. Unlike regular cows, they were not interested in me, and neither turned to look nor came near the fence. Their horns are so long, they are nearly ridiculous! 

On the way to the longhorns, I saw some Texas llamas, who stared at me probably the way I was staring at them. 

And as the sun set spectacularly, I saw two real Texas cowboys, rounding up some cattle. It was too dark to take their photos, but it was a real treat to see working cowboys. 

***

Scenes from the day

Here's more of the landscape where I painted, near Winnie, TX

Texas llamas

                                      

 Real Texas longhorns

                                       

  Is this a different kind of cow? Or just a young'un?

Wonder if these cows feel less than? 

Throughout the day, I saw lovely farms and ranches, working and abandoned

The sky was intense pretty much all day

 About midway through the day, the land began to look Western.

  I don't think I've ever seen an 80 mph speed limit before... and I would ask: What's the point?

 The sunset just got better and better and better

Teeny dogs in a huge state... But still, dogs of the day! 

Looking for Dave Robicheaux

On the Way to Weeks Island

Oil on canvas, 10x10

Tubac Trip Painting No. 7

I spent much of Friday in and around New Iberia, Louisiana. 

Fans of detective novels will surely recognize the place as the hometown of Dave Robicheaux, the main character in many of James Lee Burke's novels. 

Through Dave, Burke writes with a tender reverence for New Iberia. Dave treasures the town, and while he accepts change, he'd rather it stay the way it was. 

So places like the Evangeline Theater and Victor's Cafeteria become touchstones. East Main Street, with its brick buildings and iron railings and wide sidewalks speaks of a time when life was maybe more predictable, more understandable, more comforting. 

I spent an hour or so in downtown New Iberia, including having lunch at Victor's Cafeteria. For me, with my gluten allergy, the choices were limited. Pretty much everything was battered and fried, so I got a plate of veggies, and doused them with Tabasco and Cajun spice, and enjoyed myself. 

On the advice of Joseph Lockwood, whom I met at Starbucks, I drove to Weeks Island, looking for a painting. I found one on the way, a brilliant blue canal going into a field yet to be planted. 

I'm determined to get to the West, and so I set out from New Iberia with that destination in mind. I didn't stop to paint in western Louisiana, but it is gorgeous, and I am going to paint there on the return trip. 

Here's my painting in the landscape: 

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Scenes from the day

The Evangeline Theater in downtown New Iberia looks pretty much like it did when it was built - at least that would be my bet! 

 Farm equipment on the road, looking like fighters from a movie... or something! 

 It's spring in western Louisiana! 

 This bigger-than-life-size man, covered in Spanish moss, was beside the highway in Texas. 

I met Joseph Lockwood in Starbucks in New Iberia. He'd lost a SIMM card, and though we couldn't find it, we had a nice chat, and he directed me to Weeks Island, where I found my painting. 

 Victor's Cafeteria is one of Dave Robicheaux's haunts

If you can't eat gluten, the choices at Victor's are a little limited. 

The condiments at Victor's 

Downtown New Iberia

 What??? No Dog of the Day? Nope!