Rain at Mimbres River

Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 x 1.5"

This painting's full title was something along the lines of, "Rain at Mimbres River turns into sleet, snow, ice, and then back to rain again." I was in the middle of a program called Land Arts of the American West run out of Texas Tech's School of Architecture. We were well off the beaten path, camping for several weeks at a time in places without the normal conveniences of restrooms or running water. In the mornings I woke with icicles of condensation from my breath dangling above me inside the tent. One afternoon it warmed up just enough that the snow turned to rain and I took a run to warm myself up and explore the area.

Being in the elements as long as we were heightens your sensitivity to your environment and all the minute changes it undergoes as the day passes. This painting is my largest to date, on stretched canvas. It attempts to encompass the cold, the fleeting but life-giving warmth of a sun filtered through treetops, the moisture, and the nooks and crannies of the forest. It includes rain as it seeps into fallen logs and drips off leaves. It includes the very reflections on the puddles I ran through that day and forever solidifies the experience in my mind and heart.