Respite, 2025

Original 8x10 inch watercolor painting on paper with a one inch border surrounding the image.

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, near Moab Utah, is the subject of this painting. This rock formation is one of the most recognizable rock features in the world. The images features 3 male hikers resting in the shade admiring the beauty of the arch contrasted with a passing rain sorm in the back ground. The arch was formed over millions of years by wind, water erosion, and freeze-thaw cycles. The composition is a classic circular strategy with the arch drawing the eye to center of interest and as the eye processes the deep blue of the storm we are surprised to see the lounging hikers in the foreground resting in the shade. The colors expressed, orange and blue, convey a sense of adventure and forbidding with a storm brewing over this remote environment. The use of fading details denotes the vastness of the Utah desert. For me this is one of the most beautiful locations on earth.