| - a mound of stones piled up as a memorial or to mark a boundary or path |
In pursuit of a slot canyon on the backside of Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park, we hiked the valley along side and the desert behind the Mesa. There are no signs or heavily worn foot trails to guide you on this remote hike. Which keeps you wondering, am I'm going the right way and will I ever reach the canyon? Don't fear, there are cairns left behind by those who have gone before you to guide the way on this rock and sand terrain.... and if you are passing a fallen cairn, just know it is trail etiquette to fix it for those to come!
The Painting:
I really like the concept of cairns. Not only do they reflect a sense of unity among the hiking breed, but they are symbolic of the signs that we look for in our lives on a daily basis. When we think we are lost we search for our cairns for direction, these type of cairns take many forms from our religious beliefs to mentors to family and friends. We are all searching for validation.
I really enjoyed painting each stone as part of a whole. I started by blocking out the highlights and the shadows first. As I built the layers of paint, each stone began to take on its own personality and sometimes face.
My palette:
yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cerulean blue, prussian blue, zinc white
Oil on canvas (12 x 24 inches)
p.s. This painting will always remind me of painting in warm weather with bronchitis.
p.s.s. I really liked my friend Marty's response to the piece,
The Painting:
I really like the concept of cairns. Not only do they reflect a sense of unity among the hiking breed, but they are symbolic of the signs that we look for in our lives on a daily basis. When we think we are lost we search for our cairns for direction, these type of cairns take many forms from our religious beliefs to mentors to family and friends. We are all searching for validation.
I really enjoyed painting each stone as part of a whole. I started by blocking out the highlights and the shadows first. As I built the layers of paint, each stone began to take on its own personality and sometimes face.
My palette:
yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cerulean blue, prussian blue, zinc white
Oil on canvas (12 x 24 inches)
p.s. This painting will always remind me of painting in warm weather with bronchitis.
p.s.s. I really liked my friend Marty's response to the piece,
"I didn't truly bond with any of those inukshuk things until I traveled solo in the wilderness. Then they became my intimates whenever I found them, or they found me. They have at times brought me to tearful floods of recognition, starved as we both were for companionship. Solitude can sneak up on you like that."
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