Morning Light on the Canjilon

32 x 44

I was drawn to this subject and at the same time very cautious at attempting to portray all that was happening in this early morning visual stew. The initial aspect that I noticed was the washed out sky at this time of day. Was it white ? yellow? blue? And why was it so washed out? humidity? volcano dust? cataracts?

Then there were the backlit junipers with their wispy skeletons exposed amidst a grennish halo. On top of that add the running cliff face that was all in shadow except for some dynamic spotlights as the sun continued to climb and roll around the edges of the rock faces.

Then, for a little spice, throw in some spring squalls that blow the easel over and require the use of a quarter-inch rope, improvised brush stakes and a near-by juniper as an anchor to avoid it from happening again.

Take out a one-inch palette knife and whip in some blowing dust and seed mixture. Garnish with small black flies(they love white!). Let mixture dry, frame it up and enjoy!