Description
Arizona Spin Cycle
Wildflowers, Little Colorado River 48×48 oil on canvas
Soon to be in the permanent collection of the Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
The circle, having no beginning, and no end, is my favorite shape, both aesthetically and symbolically. A wedding vow, a fellowship of friends, and eternity can all be expressed with a circle. This is a theme I like to visit often in my work.
In the natural world, circles or cycles are the order of business. Seasons come and go, and come again. The skies open up and quench the land, seeds sprout, flowers bloom, die, and the cycle begins again.
Every summer I return to the White Mountains of Arizona. Rolling grasslands collide with thick pine covered forests and the Little Colorado River begins its journey from the slopes of Mount Baldy. This is where inspiration blooms and my mind dwells on conservation.
Last summer during my visit, it rained daily, sometimes for hours. Hard drenching rain.
I always thank God for rain like this, because having been a desert dweller for many years, I know how absolutely essential water is to our very existence in this great state.
On the banks of the Little Colorado River one clear morning, I knelt down to enjoy the diversity of blooms that surrounded me. How could I choose just one to paint? Next to me the rain-swollen river was churning and swirling like a wash tub. Over me, a blanket of cerulean sky stretched into infinity.
So, I didn’t choose just one flower. I wanted to express the bounty of the land, and combined all the elements of that moment in time on the canvas. I hope I can return to this place year after year after year. To give thanks for God’s provisions, and to consider how I can be a better steward of this remarkable region of our great big world.
dh 2022
Featured Wild flowers:
Pale Mountain Dandelion
Western Spiderwart
Morning Glory
Scarlet Morning Glory
Southwestern Cosmos
Globemallow
In memory of Kitty Collins, who had an interest in water too.
