This 16 X 20 inch Acrylic painting on a black canvas began with a hike into New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness and a moment I have never forgotten.
Deep within a narrow canyon, I came upon a pristine pool shaped by decades of spring runoff and seasonal floods. The evidence of that power was everywhere. Massive timbers rested high above the waterline, deposited there by currents that once surged through the canyon. The rock walls had been carved and sculpted by the same forces over countless years.
As I watched, large rainbow trout rose repeatedly from the clear water to intercept golden dragonflies skimming the surface. It was one of those rare experiences where landscape, wildlife, and memory combine into something larger than the individual elements themselves.
Rather than recreate the scene exactly as it appeared, I allowed memory to shape the painting. The canyon wall from the Gila remains, while the waterfall, mist, and forest atmosphere draw inspiration from places I later encountered in the Pacific Northwest. Together they create a landscape that is part observation, part recollection, and part imagination.
Like many of my paintings, Fish On! explores the way meaningful places continue to evolve within memory long after we leave them. The result is not a record of a single location, but a reflection of the experiences that remain with us.