7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper
“Night and day the river flows. If time is the mind of space, the River is the soul of the desert. Brave boatmen come, they go, they die, the voyage flows on forever. We are all canyoneers. We are all passengers on this little mossy ship, this delicate dory sailing round the sun that humans call the earth. Joy, shipmates, joy.” — (Edward Abbey, The Hidden Canyon — A River Journey)
7″x5″ pastel on paper
“…you are my rainbow to keep. My eyes will always be watching you; never will I lose sight of you.”
–Vesna Bailey
I snapped this shot of a friend and her daughter, as they lounged on a blanket passing the hours of a very long race our husbands were running. It is a lousy photo, but I love the energy between their faces, so I did a little colorful study of that precious mother-daughter moment.
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
Pamona is a master watercolor artist, teacher, and friend. We all agree watercolors are the toughest medium, so I leave that heavy lifting to her. I have captured her here in pastel, from a photo taken by Jodi Wert.
7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper, plein air
We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness.
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
“To create one’s own world takes courage”. -Georgia O’Keeffe
7″x5″ pastel on paper
“That we find a crystal or a poppy beautiful means that we are less alone, that we are more deeply inserted into existence than the course of a single life would lead us to believe.”
-John Berger
7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper
“Through the dancing poppies stole a breeze mostly softly lulling to my soul.
-John Keats
“7×5” pastel, wind, and mosquito on sanded paper
Plein air, Ghost Ranch
I have met a lot of CDT hikers this summer, thru-hikers are fun people to share an afternoon and a beer with. They gain strength and wisdom on the trail that is awesome to be a part of.
This is a friend I met at the ranch, hiking the AT, and a bit from his journal.
“I know the memories will fade. The trip will be defined in our favorite photographs and a cool slide show. The texture and nuance of what the AT has been will fade. But what will never fade is the relationships that have been forged over 2,000 miles of hiking. The AT is about people. It is about a shared struggle. When it’s all said and done, that’s what life is when it is at its best. A shared struggle with people you love.”
-Gumby & Coyotebec
To see what they have been up to since their return home, go to http://www.packandpaddle.blogspot.com
5″x7″ pastel on sanded paper
paintandsimple 