MORNING MESAS STUDY ORIGINAL

MORNING MESAS STUDY ORIGINAL 12″ X 16″ acrylic on masonite board.

It’s the dawn of a brilliantly colorful new day at the Grand Canyon as the Arizona sun begins shining its light on MORNING MESAS. Still enveloped in partial darkness, the outcroppings in the foreground take on a dark misty hue of rich dark reds and greens. We can see the blue and soft purple silhouettes of flat top mesas emerging in the distance, waiting for their turn to dazzle us with their brilliant colors. And somewhere, down there runs the mighty Colorado River. As timeless as it is relentless. When I began this project I was planning to paint it in a monochromatic color scheme. But sometimes a painting takes on a life of its own, as was the case of Morning Mesas. A little bit of color added during a moment of experimentation, changing the mood and changing direction. As the sun rises, distant buttes and mesas will take on bright orange, yellow, light purple and warm earthy pinks. This cycle will continue day and and day out, just like it has for millions of years.