You know, one of the greatest natural wonders of this earth sits right here in my own backyard. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The Black Canyon, as it is affectionately known locally, is really an amazing place. Some years ago I was asked to come up to the park and do some paintings for the park service. They wanted an artist’s eye to portray the beauty of this unusual spectacle. I was honored and have been fortunate to have a working relationship with the park ever since then where they sell my prints and note cards in the visitor center. I haven’t painted up there for some time.  It’s a shame too. Saturday I decided to give it a go again. I had forgotten how hard it is to paint this natural wonder. This deep gouge in the earth is so darn spectacular, it is hard to know how to put that onto canvas. It is intimidating, not to mention that the light is constantly changing from morning to evening. Then throw in some cloud shadows and you honestly don’t know where to begin. I spent a good portion of Saturday just revisiting and getting to know the park again. Although I’ve been back to the park over the years for just a casual visit, I really enjoyed getting to know the place more intimately again this weekend. Sunday I went back and did a couple of paintings. Chatting it up with the folks and telling them a little bit about the place was fun. I really enjoyed myself. There were people from all over that stopped by, from as far as Switzerland, to as close as Delta. I think I’ll go back on a regular basis. Why not? It’s close and fun to paint. One of the over looked places to go up there is down to the East Portal on the Gunnison River. The road down to the river is crooked and really steep. It’s paved but you need to keep it in low gear and don’t ride the brake. Once down at the bottom you can drive up stream to the Crystal Dam, right along the river’s edge. Again, depending on the time of day, the light down there in the canyon bottom is enchanting. There is even a small camp ground down there for tents as trailers are prohibited from going down there and for good reason. From the camp ground you can hike downstream for a ways. I should mention that for those of you who like to fish, these are Gold Medal waters for trout. Artificial lures or flies only however.   Here are a couple of paintings I did while up there.   This is the view from Tomichi Point which is the first overlook you come to. It looks in an Easterly direction with the Gunnison River far below.     This is the view of Puplit Rock, at the overlook by the same name. It is past the Visitors Center, which is on the end of the mid distance canyon wall. Both of these paintings are available at the gallery. Contact me if you are interested.