Buckle up kids, this might be a long one!

As I reported last month, Aaron and I kicked off September with a trip to the beach in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, a 4-hour drive from the Phoenix metro. We stayed in an area we had not visited that was located to the east of the town, and the beach there was the most beautiful one we have encountered in the area. The tides in Puerto Peñasco are some of the most dramatic in the world, and they were especially so with the new moon in the sky. One night, I watched the water retract at sunset faster than water leaving a bathtub, leaving beautiful patterns in the sand. It was incredible!

The area was largely undeveloped (even our condo building was still being built) and there were no neighboring properties. It was a peaceful getaway, but we did awaken in the middle of the night the night before Labor Day to no electricity. It never came back on. Such is Mexico, I guess! We headed for the border and even with a quite early departure, the wait to enter the U.S. was about 2 hours.

I was accepted into the juried “Share Our Walls” exhibition at the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild in Tucson, which opened September 8 and runs until October 6. The reception was toasty with a broken air conditioner in the gallery, but the show was full of cool works of art and I was honored to have my work displayed along with them.

In addition to the SAWG show, the collaborative artwork that my friend Ursula Schneider and I created was accepted into the “Colaboraciones” show at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop in Tucson. I also received an e-mail early in the month from a collaborative workspace called Industrious Tempe that will be opening at the end of October, asking if I would like to display my artwork there. It looks like it will be a beautiful space and I can’t wait to see my work adorn their walls.

Me with “La Corona” at the SAWG reception

Unfortunately, I missed the reception for the Raices Taller show because my friend Kalisha and I took a weekend trip to Flagstaff after I won tickets to the Northern Arizona Food and Wine festival . It was a great excuse to get away to the cooler elevations and have a little “girls trip.” We had a wonderful time and I’m so grateful for the friendship of my fellow Louisville to Arizona transplant.

“Fall” began to arrive here, and high temperatures dipped to the 90’s and even the 80’s. My cabin fever had indeed about exceeded its level of tolerability, and I hit the trails. I visited the always-magical Desert Botanical Garden mid-month, took day trips to Payson and Prescott, and hiked at Usery Mountain Regional Park in Mesa.

The trip to Payson included stops along the Salt River, Saguaro Lake, and finally the Tonto Natural Bridge, the largest travertine natural bridge in the world. I had longed to visit Watson Lake in Prescott for a couple of years, and it did not disappoint. It is a manmade lake that abuts the Granite Dells, composed of gorgeous rock formations. I hiked the entire perimeter of the lake and I’m quite sure I’ll be back to do it again and again.

The always-gorgeous Desert Botanical Garden

At Usery Mountain Regional Park, I spent time really looking at and admiring the many personalities and configurations that saguaros display, and photographed many of them. Four of these characters became my final paintings of the month, a series I’m playing with naming “Cacticatures,” a play on the word caricature.

As I have the past couple of years, I’ve designed a 2020 calendar featuring some of my favorite paintings of 2019 and it’s currently on pre-sale. Sales will be closed after November 3, and I don’t plan to order any extras because I certainly can’t use more than one myself. I anticipate shipping the calendars out to customers on December 1. So, if you’re so inclined, get one while you can.

The 10 paintings I created in September and the photos that inspired them are included following a few photos from this month’s adventures. Where will I find my next inspiration?

And with that, I bid you a happy October! Perhaps I will find some changing leaves up a mountain somewhere. I do miss bright orange and red maples, but the magic of nature lives everywhere in different forms. I’ll appreciate what I have at my doorstep. Cheers!

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Dawn along the Salt River, with Four Peaks on the horizon

September 2019 Artwork

“Sonoran Anemones” 12x12”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper This piece is on hold for upcoming exhibition. — “Sonoran Anemones”
12x12”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper
This piece is on hold for upcoming exhibition.

“Glochidia Generator” 7x7”, Watercolor on Paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Glochidia Generator”
7x7”, Watercolor on Paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“T View” 20x8”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper This piece is on hold for upcoming exhibition. — “T View”
20x8”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper
This piece is on hold for upcoming exhibition.

“Tierra de Tortolita” 10x4”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches Cold Pressed Paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Tierra de Tortolita”
10x4”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches Cold Pressed Paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“Cache” 10x4”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper This piece is on hold for upcoming exhibition. — “Cache”
10x4”, Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper
This piece is on hold for upcoming exhibition.

“Adios Amigos” 5x7”, Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper SOLD — “Adios Amigos”
5x7”, Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper
SOLD

Tentative series title: “Cacticatures” Each panel measures 3x9”, Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper This series is on hold for upcoming exhibition. — Tentative series title: “Cacticatures”
Each panel measures 3x9”, Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches cold press watercolor paper
This series is on hold for upcoming exhibition.

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June is my birthday month, and my birthday gift this year was a little solo adventure to northwestern New Mexico. I had read about the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness a few years ago, and had been longing to visit ever since, so I planned a trip to the various sites sprinkled around the region of this destination.

I stayed in Gallup, New Mexico, during my trip. I read a lot of negative things about Gallup before my departure, so I was prepared for whatever might greet me. Personally, while I didn’t spend a lot of time in the town of Gallup itself, I found the time I did spend there to be enjoyable and uneventful. Everyone was friendly and the town was sprinkled with Route 66 charm. It’s interesting how divergent and judgmental people’s perspectives can be.

The route to New Mexico took me through Payson, Arizona. I had never been to this town before. Payson is located on the Mogollon Rim, a geological feature that defines the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau. At about 7,500 feet above sea level, the edge of the rim is a beautiful ponderosa pine forest with sweeping views of the mountain ranges below. I arrived there in about an hour and a half from my home in Tempe, and, as always, it was amazing to watch the saguaro-laden desert morph into junipers and then ponderosa pines, and the temperature to drop accordingly. I spent a little time on a trail near the Mogollon Rim Visitors Center, and then continued on my way.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a big fan of Petrified Forest National Park, and am especially fond of the Painted Desert section of the park. Shortly after passing Holbrook, Arizona, I found myself at the exit for the park, and it was too much to resist. I spent some time hiking down into the basin of the Painted Desert, where the hills are sprinkled with petrified wood and huge chunks of mica. During this trip, there were also abundant wildflowers, with bits of yellow and purple dotting the landscape.

Back on I-40, the landscape changed to sandstone mesas as I crossed the New Mexico state line, and soon thereafter, I arrived in Gallup. It was late afternoon and I called it an early night.

I started the next day at El Morro National Monument, a place with inscriptions in the sandstone bluffs dating back hundreds of years, including Europeans beginning in the 1600s and much older Native American petroglyphs. It was a stopping point due to the fact that it had the only source of water for many, many miles. At the top of the bluffs, there was a Native American civilization around 900 years ago, part of which has been excavated. I can see why they set up shop there - the views were so beautiful!

View from the top of El Morro, with Native American ruins

Around mid-day, I made my way to El Malpais National Monument. This park is also home to beautiful sandstone bluffs, but its most remarkable features are volcanic in origin - I saw lava tube caves, a caldera, and hiked around a volcano’s cinder cone. Later, I got a great view of the extensive lava flows from atop the sandstone bluffs. I encountered a very nice family at the monument, and especially enjoyed talking to the mom, who was the same age as me. In fact, it turned out that she had grown up in Harrison, Arkansas, a town that my family briefly inhabited when I was a child. It was crazy to think that she would probably have been a schoolmate of mine if we had stayed there.

The following day, I headed out to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, the place that had been on my "to explore" list for nearly 3 years. I trekked 8 miles through this weird and wonderful desert world of hoodoos, badlands, and petrified wood, and there was still so much more I missed. I didn’t find any dinosaur bones, but this is one of the famous aspects of this place – it is where the Bistahieversor or "Bisti Beast", is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur, was discovered. Surrounded by legions of strange formations, many of which are humanoid in shape, the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is the type of place that definitely makes you question your sanity after a while. I’m not sure that any photos can truly convey what it looks or feels like there.

After a good night’s sleep, I drove around two hours to Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. The park is very remote, and the last 20 miles to reach it are via dirt road. However, it was well worth the effort. The Chacoan civilization that existed in the canyon (and beyond!) 1,200-800 years ago far exceeds anything you would have ever pictured... multi-story buildings – including one would have had around 650 rooms, commerce centers, roads, trade with civilizations hundreds if not thousands of miles away. These people traded to get chocolate and macaws from Mexico and seashells from the Pacific and Gulf of California. I drove away wondering what was under the earth all around me, even after I left the park. There is so much we don't know.

On my last day before driving home, I visited the Pueblo of Acoma (a.k.a. “Sky City”), where the native people built their homes on top of a mesa around 1,000 years ago. I had actually encountered some people from Acoma at the San Xavier del Bac mission in Tucson last year and never forgot their beautiful pottery or their genuine friendliness, so it was a special treat to see where they lived. Some of the tribe members still live up on the mesa, and they do so without running water or electricity. Their people are believed to have descended from those who inhabited Chaco Canyon. I so enjoyed meeting all of the wonderful people on the mesa, and I think Acoma was probably the highlight of my whole trip!

I ended the day with a hike to the top of Pyramid Rock at Gallup's Red Rock Park. It was a gorgeous red sandstone wonderland, and I was so glad that I found time to experience it. Lots of people were out for a Tuesday afternoon hike, and the views from the top of the rock were pretty spectacular.

Back home in Arizona, Aaron and I celebrated the day of my 43rd birthday with a trip to Slide Rock State Park in Sedona. The water was VERY, VERY (did I say VERY?) cold, and part of the day’s fun was watching people’s reactions to it. We laughed and laughed, froze a bit ourselves, and grabbed some food at a little Mexican diner on the way home.

The rest of June was spent painting, working, and thanking my lucky stars for the invention of air conditioning, as temperatures climbed into the mid-100’s and then beyond that to 112 degrees. I just tell myself that summer here equates to winter most places, when I wouldn’t be enjoying much of the outdoors, either. Most days, it is still pleasant if you get out before 9 a.m., too. I created a total of nine paintings, all of which are featured below, and many of which feature scenes from my birthday excursion.

Atop the Cinder Cone at El Malpais National Monument

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“Sky City” 10x8” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Sky City”
10x8” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“The Birthday Party” 20x16” on 2” cradled Aquabord This piece is on hold for exhibition and sale at my solo show at Agua Caliente Ranch House Gallery in Tucson, AZ, from 3/21/2020 - 4/22/2020. — “The Birthday Party”
20x16” on 2” cradled Aquabord
This piece is on hold for exhibition and sale at my solo show at Agua Caliente Ranch House Gallery in Tucson, AZ, from 3/21/2020 - 4/22/2020.

“Picacho Spring” 8x10” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Picacho Spring”
8x10” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“Open Arms” 5x7” watercolor on Aquabord For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Open Arms”
5x7” watercolor on Aquabord
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“The Giants of Marshall Gulch” 2x3” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “The Giants of Marshall Gulch”
2x3” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“Mogollon Rim, Payson, Arizona: 6/7/19, 10:28:36” 2x3” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Mogollon Rim, Payson, Arizona: 6/7/19, 10:28:36”
2x3” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona: 6/7/19, 13:50:18” 2x3” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona: 6/7/19, 13:50:18”
2x3” watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“Red Rock Park, Gallup, New Mexico: 6/11/19, 14:59:23” 2x3” watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Red Rock Park, Gallup, New Mexico: 6/11/19, 14:59:23”
2x3” watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

“Superior, Arizona: 5/10/19, 7:45:43” 2x3” watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase. — “Superior, Arizona: 5/10/19, 7:45:43”
2x3” watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper
For sale as of this blog posting - visit my online shop to purchase.

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September 2019 Artwork