Las Vegas 1000 Mile Loop

My wife and I recently flew to Vegas and rented a car for 5 days. We drove to the Hoover dam, stayed in historic Williams, spent a day on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. After a day in beautiful Flagstaff, we drove through the most spectacular autumn scenery in Sedona. We were warmly greeted by the Sedona Art Center staff and enjoyed an inspiring conversation with the very versatile and professional artist, Alex Rupert! He was very gracious to take the time and explain his process and all the creative endeavors he is working on. We wish him continued great success in his career!

Then we went downstairs to view the recently completed Sedona Plein Air Festival results, and were immersed in beautiful and competent paintings. The high-calibre artists produced a stunning array of Sedona landscapes.

Then we drove on to Prescott, Havasu City, Needles California and back to Las Vegas to finish the 1000 mile loop. Our cameras could not adequately capture the spectacular views and environments of this great country. 

Here is a pic I took from a sunrise at the oasis-like city on the edge of the Colorado river and reservoir, Havasu City.  Below is a quick 1-hour acrylic on paper study from Sedona I completed (a little messy and values need to be moderated). We enjoyed our trip immensely and I'm so grateful for my lovely and patient spouse of 30+ years!

Acrylics on Paper over the Years

When my kids were young, I used paint with acrylics on paper since it was nontoxic and an easy to cleanup. They got an introduction to the rewarding activity of painting and I was able to be an "involved" Dad while working on something I enjoyed too.  Sometimes I'd set-up a still life for us all to paint or we'd create a study of another artist's painting that we admired. I've come to realize that those simple choices of acrylics on paper has laid a creative foundation for me and my children. Here are a few successful oldies.