I can do landscapes!

So... I am a person who often makes brave bold statements about likes and dislikes. I have often been heard telling people "I don't like to paint flowers" or "I don't do landscapes". I think the reason I say things like this is because I think those subject matters have been done to the point of nausea. At least to the point of inducing my nausea. But every now and then, I get inspired to give it a go and do something in that genre which normally so displeases me.

When I was leaving New Mexico in January, on the way to the aeroport in Albuqueque, I was looking at distant mesas and it actually inspired me. But by saying that I was inspired, I should warn that I was inspired to do a landscape in my own terms. I quickly sketched something out at the aeroport in ink so as to not forget what I was thinking:

Then once I was home, I started to work in oils on the painting:


Until it now looks like this:


This painting is not finished by any means. I know that it still needs lots of work (plus a whole palette colour change for the red/pink boulders), but I wanted all to see that I am willing to try anything even if it means my foot will be crammed in my mouth!

While I was working on that painting, I thought to myself that it would be wonderful to even abstract the landscape even more. And to simplify the colours to make a impact on the viewer's eyes. This is what I came up with:

The great thing about this painting is that I believe it can work in all orientations for viewing and nothing will be taken away from the painting.

The moral of this story is that I am not afraid to eat my words and try something if I think I can get away with putting my own spin on it and turning it into something I would be proud to show others.