Frey Trail

8″ x 10″ Acrylic
Framed in light wood floater frame.

Piece from the Pathways & Precipices ~ An Artist’s Return to Awe and Wonder Series inspired by experiences and transformations from Bandelier National Monument Artist Residency for month of November 2022.

11/10/22 ~ This was a spontaneous paint out on the trail following a day of hand-stained paper making in the casita! My journey conquering the Frey Trail and all of its switchbacks up the north canyon wall is its own story, with this paint out being a step along the way! The first day up the Frey trail I made it to switchback #1, the next time to switchback #2 and so on. This day I made it to switchback #3 with its bench perched above the Tyuonyi ruins. I decided to set up there, on the slope by that bench, looking up hill towards the next switchback and the niche in the canyon wall with a lone ponderosa pine on a lonely cliff face. What is really fun about this painting is I thought that I wouldn’t see anyone up there on a Thursday mid-late afternoon! I was wrong and had the loveliest encounters with people coming down the trail from the Juniper campground. Just so you know, I did eventually make it all the way up to the mesa!