To awaken each day in such a remarkable place, and know that my only job was to soak in the beauty and to choose what to paint next, was a pure joy!
There is an immediacy, being surrounded by the whispers of Anasazi culture, that feels like time out of time. In this particular place in Navajoland, the old is woven in with the new, and the earth prevails over anything modern by its awesome presence.
Life from another time is bleeding through in this canyon. The layers are more visible, more living.
The feeling of summer still lingered, although it was already one week into fall, and the magnificent Cottonwood trees were only just beginning to change colors. It was a golden moment between seasons, still so warm and abundant, with clear, star-filled nights.
There is a spirit in this canyon , and a deep silence within these ancient sandstone walls streaked with desert varnish....Only the echoes of animals and birds: crow, coyote, Navajo horses and canyon wrens, pierce the quiet. The earth, soft and red, and the cool shadows moving with the sun, create an atmosphere of beauty all around.
I have huge gratitude for the friends I made, and for the unique opportunity I had to visit and paint in Canyon de Chelly.
~ Tracy
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