Southwest Sunset

I saw a photo with the clouds and similar color . I changed mountains foreground and mid ground . I tried to use a mountain range outline from southern New Mexico.

This is a pastel painting on 100% cotton paper Stonehenge  warm white.  12x17 . This is done with Schmincke,Art spectrum Sennelier ,and Blicks soft pastels.  With Nupastels and pastel pencils  .

Afternoon storm over Chimney Rock

This sandstone monument is north of Shiprock New Mexico and just southwest of  Cortez Colorado  .  It is on the northeastern  end of the Navajo Reservation. It is an interesting rock formation.   Drove by it hundreds of times over the years.

 I have not heard any stories or myths with this sandstone monument but there maybe . 

If your familiar  with the area what direction is this view ?

This is a pastel painting on 100% cotton paper Stonehenge  warm white.  12x17 . This is done with Schmincke,Art spectrum Sennelier ,and Blicks soft pastels.  With Nupastels and pastel pencils  .

Winter night in Monument Valley

This little one is a based on monument valley . A bit of artistic license  ,  I like it.  It gets a few snowstorms there. This I see as  a family in a lone hogan weathering out a rare winter snow fall.

This is my second painting on primed masonite .

This is acrylic on primed masonite 4" X 4"

Golden Morning

This inspiration for this painting was a photo of foggy sunrise not sure of where but I liked the colors and idea. I added fence and changed the tree from a almost dead tree to a thriving one.

This is an acrylic on canvas 8 1/2  X  11

Geronimo " one who yawns "

 Geronimo  " one who yawns " was my next  endeavor . Him being a legend it was a must for me to draw him. Loved, feared, and hated he fought a long hard battle against the Calvary .  His tenacity in his war deserves respect.

The use of the name while jumping out of a plane or a charge came from his exploits like rushing a group of men armed with guns while only carrying a knife and winning.

The next 2 paragraphs are not my writing but from the linked web site.

Geronimo was the leader of the last American Indian fighting force formally to capitulate to the United States. Because he fought against such daunting odds and held out the longest, he became the most famous Apache of all. To the pioneers and settlers of Arizona and New Mexico, he was a bloody-handed murderer and this image endured until the second half of this century.


To the Apaches, Geronimo embodied the very essence of the Apache values, aggressiveness, courage in the face of difficulty. These qualities inspired fear in the settlers of Arizona and New Mexico. The Chiricahuas were mostly migratory following the seasons, hunting and farming. When food was scarce, it was the custom to raid neighboring tribes. Raids and vengeance were an honorable way of life among the tribes of this region.

 http://www.indians.org/welker/geronimo.htm

He surrendered hoping to return to his homeland he spent time in a Florida prison  and in Oklahoma but never was able to return to his homeland .  


But what is not written about  by many narratives is his war for freedom and vengeance started with Mexico . His Mother, wife and 3 children were killed by Mexican troops . This  transformed  a trader into a warrior over night.

Villain or Hero its your decision.

This is a composite drawing of him. the headdress is from one old photo of him but younger and his likeness from another when he was old. The expression I really liked  but he was wearing a bolder hat and suit just didn't suit me for this.

This is graphite and charcoal  on 11X15 Stonehenge paper 100% cotton  the color is kraft.