Salt River and Cliffs

Size: 18x24

Type: Oil on linen panel

This is from the Salt Cliffs area in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix.  The cliffs are in shadow until early afternoon, when they’re fully lit.  I like the early light best, when the morning sun skims one side.  I don’t consider this painting finished, and as of now, I think it’s one of my failures.  I framed it badly, including too much of the rocky foreground and lopping off the top of the cliffs.  I thought I could make that work, but….  It’s on the list of projects to do over.  I’m putting on my site because there are some things I like about it, especially the work on the cliffs.  The foreground rocks have been abandoned, more or less because they’re ridiculously complicated.  Once I knew I had to re-paint this, there was no point in finishing them.