December 20, 2011 – Valley of Fire

When it comes to national parks and spectacular desert spots, Nevada has got tough competition. Squeezed between California and Utah with the Grand Canyon just out of reach, the average traveler doesn’t think Nevada and scenic go together. And I have to admit that some of those dry and dull roads across Nevada can be a challenge. But I decided to treat the Silver State as a treasure hunt. There are some real gems hidden among the sagebrush. Years ago I discovered one of the best desert places in the west.

Valley of Fire State Park is about 90 minutes north of Las Vegas, yet most of the thousands who flock to Las Vegas will never bother to see the park. I am not complaining about that. It’s always quiet and so many other travelers assume that as a “state park” it can’t be as good as “national park.” Okay, you just keep driving. Valley of Fire is all about the canyons, the rock formations, the petroglyphs all in oranges and reds against an intense blue sky. I saw the place in a dream over and over for about six months before I first visited the Valley of Fire. That was over ten years ago. I have been back many times since then.

October 24, 2011 – Instant Communications

On this day 150 years ago Carson City, Nevada was connected to Omaha, Nebraska. With that stretch of telegraph wires, the first transcontinental telegraph line was complete. Virtually “instant” communication between the East and West Coasts became possible. Literally two days later, the Pony Express was out of business. 150 years later we’ve taken instant communications and technological advances for granted. As soon as I click the mouse today’s piece for the 2011 Project is available to anyone in the world with internet access. But it’s not just about art, this year we’ve seen what access to communications can do. Dictatorships topple and images of dead dictators go around the world in seconds.

April 3, 2011 – Sagebrush

The West smells good. In particular the arid parts from the deserts to the Great Basin, from Arizona to all the way up to Eastern Washington. The secret is the sage. When the air heats up and those oil molecules make their way into the air, it’s heavenly. And after it rains in the desert, the smell is like nothing else. Of course you can burn sage. It’s pleasant and for some a way to purification. I was using a hairdryer to finish off today’s piece, the dried leaves heated up and the smell filled the room. The world is still waiting for internet odorama.

March 20, 2011 — Ghost Town

I have visited ruins all over Europe and throughout the Southwest U.S. But there is something different about ghost towns. Rhyolite (near Death Valley just over the Nevada State Line) and Bodie (on the edge of California north of Mono Lake) are my two favorites. I first visited Rhyolite over 10 years ago and have been going back every time I am nearby. I was just back in Rhyolite a month ago. I look and keep telling myself there is less and less of the old Cook Bank every time I go. The ruin is even fenced off for safety now. When I returned home, I compared old photos I took a few years ago and was able to confirm the ongoing decay.

The history surrounding ghost towns is something I find compelling. I attribute it to their stories of rapid expansion and near sudden demise. How so much could happen in a place and draw so many people in. How a town grew with a sense of permanency only to be abandoned a decade or so later. Perhaps it is because I live in one of those towns that started as a boom town. San Francisco has also survived its series of ups and downs and calamities. But our setting,on a beautiful, and conveniently located, bay has made us always stick around and, when necessary, rebuild.

Now I see another road trip to Bodie in my future.

February 25, 2011 – Bottle House

I can’t be within 100 miles of Rhyolite without making a visit to one of my favorite ghost towns. One of the highlights is Tom Kelly’s Bottle House. Built in 1906 with mortar and bottles, mostly beer bottles, instead of bricks. I am pleased that some effort is really being put in to preserving the structure. It really encompasses so many things I love in my own art – repurposing and recycling and loosely structured grid-like patterns with circles. And it sparkles out there in the desert.

Sadly, the old caretaker passed away about a year ago. He was right out of central casting as the gold miner with the big bushy beard. You’d barely be out of your car and he’d appear out of nowhere and begin to tell you the history of the house, etc.

This piece is more or less a study for some upcoming bottle house paintings.