View from Chicken Corners
Friends -
'View from Chicken Corners' is the last of 3 paintings
that I had been asked
to make, and I definitely feel as though it was the
most difficult to
finish. Probably, I could have kept on working
it, and never felt that it
was complete. However, at some point you have
to say, 'Done', and I chose
to do that here.
This view was photographed by a friend from Colorado
named Jim Traeber. He
was generous enough to allow me to use it for this
oil painting. It of a
location that is not very easy to get to, as it is
a long drive on a bumpy
4-W drive road to get to Chicken Corners. It
is beautiful, though, and you
will be gasping with amazement as you drive along
Kane Creek Road, up to the
top of Hurrah Pass, and down the steep drop toward
the Colorado River side
of the ridge to Chicken Corners Road. Another
4 or 5 bumpy, amazing miles,
and you get to 'The Corner' of Chicken Corners Road. It
is aptly named,
because the faint-of-heart are not likely to enjoy
driving around that bend
between a rock and a hard place (literally). The
road rounds a curve that
has a boulder on one side and the other side is a
sheer drop of 9 or 10
stories to the bottom.
All of that is worth it, though, because once your
heart starts beating
again, you get to the end of Chicken Corners Road. There
you can stop for
the breath taking views which include a deep bend
in the Colorado River, the
white rim mesa and Dead Horse Point, the highest
peak on this painting. A
little more to the right is Thelma and Louise Point..
you know, the spot
where the two heroines sped along the White Rim to
escape authorities, and
then dove off the cliff in their convertible? That
spot. Quite famous here
in Moab.
With all that, I am quite fond of this area. So,
I would not oppose trying
to paint the same area again. Maybe this time,
in pastels.
As with the other two paintings, the original is
taken. But I am more than
happy to trade prints of this for a donation to a
worthwhile cause.. perhaps
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA)? If
you are interested, we can
chat about how that is done.
Stay warm. Be well.
margie lopez read