Strange Canyon Road

Strange Canyon Road

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Strange Canyon Road
oil on canvas
12 x 24 inches.  
This item is unframed.  (click on the image to purchase)

The sun goes down, another dreamless night
You're right by my side
You wake me up, you say it's time to ride
In the dead of night
Strange canyon road, strange look in 
your eyes
You shut them as we fly, as we fly - Orville Peck

 Marigold and Marvin were often seen wandering down the strange canyon road in the dark - always searching, hunting, sometimes racing, flying - and sometimes very, very still.

Those times, the times the two were still, were unsettling. Two sets of intense eyes in the dark. Breathing synchronized. Two beings perfectly still, as if they were one.

Many tales are told of Marigold and Marvin, but this one I can say is surely true. I came upon them on that strange canyon road during one of the still times. They saw me, I saw them. But I wasn’t who or what they hunted that dark night, and so I walked on. I still get the chills thinking about it.  And I no longer walk that road at night.

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About the art - this piece was inspired by a session with the AI bot where I explored beasts and their riders.  Mostly the AI bot does not want to seat people on top of beasts - more like adjacent in the air or merging their legs and bodies. Quite surreal!  But for some reason it approves of bears and riders.  Who knew?  Beginning with a primed canvas panel, I roughed in the sketch with a brush laden with thinned oil paint.  Working from the faces outward, I began to add the layers.  Canvas panel likes to absorb the paint, so there are many layers and a couple of months spent on this piece to get the final vibrant colors.  A final layer of  impasto paint with a palette knife to get some white on white texture in her fur trimmed cloak.  And voila!

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Congratulations to Charlynn T.!  Wonder Mike chose your name at random as winner of the March Reader Giveaway!  Thank you to everyone who commented - your participation, feedback, community and encouragement are a bright light in a wild world!  Thanks hugely!  A new contest begins next month.