The Big Adventure

I'm behind a little red Jeep that has a license plate that says BZART. It's 7:25 am, the sun is rising and we're on the road. truly, this is an adventure that I've been looking forward to for weeks. It's a trip out west to Big Bend Country with the iconic Bill Zaner, and another artist, David Caton. The 3 of us are headed out to Big Bend to paint, drink some wine, and philosophize about life. Bill says it's only an hour to David's house, and then another four a half hours to Big Bend. but Bill's  driving only 50 miles an hour. I'm afraid this might take a little longer. Just 6 minutes out of Boerne, and already the hill country is beginning to change. The muted colored hills in the distance, and the morning light flashing on the oaks all around me reach out as to say, "Welcome home."
28 minutes and were just now I'm getting out of Bandera Texas. There was a warning sign that said there are Steep grades and sharp curves for the next 22 miles. I took us over an hour and 20 minutes to get to David's house, but we finally got back on the road. 7 hours later, we arrived at the cabin in Terlingua. We stopped only a couple of times along the way, once in Del Rio for gas and a quick HEB run, and then at the Pecos river overlook where we could see the intersection of the Pecos and the Rio Grande.



The Pecos River looking toward the Rio Grande, at the end of the canyon.

Wednesday was mostly traveling, so we didn't do any painting. I got a couple of quick sketches in prior to sunset, and took a few snapshots from the porch. We finally got to painting on Thursday, and I was able to complete 3 paintings, and start on a 4th. I'll publish those in the next few posts.

Something extraordinary happened on this short trip. Bill said my DNA would be rearranged, and it was. I learned some key things about myself and my art.

On Thursday morning, just after sunrise, both Bill and David set up their easels and began to paint. I was extremely intimidated, being the "junior" painter, and apprentice of sorts, among these two giants. I watched both of them paint for a few minutes, then summoned my courage to set up and get some paint on a surface. While watching Bill paint with a knife, he would share little bits of information about what he was doing - mixing, application, color, space... it took me about 10 minutes with all of my senses observing his moves and listening to his voice to figure out I could do what he was doing. So I did. And I loved it. I overcame my fear and learned a new way to paint. I didn't use a brush on any of the 6 paintings I completed since Thursday.

To be continued -