Sunrise on the Acequia

There is this area between Hondo and Arroyo Seco where the sides of the valley are steep and the homes are built up on the edges. The ancestral land in the area is divided among the sons in strips called spaghetti farms. Instead of just quartering a piece of acreage they divide it so every piece of land has access to the acequia - or irrigation ditch- and the road. Some of these spaghetti farms are so thin that even a double wide trailer will not fit so homes are stacked up on the road edge.

That area was inspiration of this painting. It was an interesting challenge in perspective. When I found myself getting to academic about it I forced myself to go for a more "primative" approach. Just as long as the houses did not look as if they were falling off the edge, I told myself, and then laughed because I sometimes feel when driving along the high road over the Hondo Valley that the houses will tobble down to the valley below were the sheep and cows graze.

This vertical Hill and Dale painting was a nice departure. I enjoyed to process of being confused with it from time to time. From that confusion comes progress and innovation in our work.