I have just added a new pastel to my site titled, “Hurricane Wash”. Below are six photos of the work in progress. If you refer to my blog from August 22nd, the same work process is used for this new pastel.

I just completed a new pastel inspired by past trips to Southern Utah. The painting captures the beauty of the Hurricane Wash area. Hurricane Wash is located in the Grand Staircase National Monument of southern Utah. This is an area that contains numerous picturesque canyons. Take a look at a map of Utah and find Bryce Canyon National Park, Look east to locate the town of Escalante. Just east of Escalante is a dirt road heading southeast called the “hole-in-the-rock-road”. Hurricane Wash trailhead is 35 miles down that road. The trail goes 13 miles down the wash to the Escalante River which runs into the Colorado River. A mile down the trail, which starts out as a sandy dry wash, you are led into a canyon whose walls gradually increase in height. After only a few more miles, the dry wash turns into a stream. Downstream you’ll find the Jacob Hamblin Arch, along with waterfalls and pools.
The end of the 57 mile hole-in-the-rock-road takes you to a historical site. In 1880 a party of 250 mormons and 80 wagons were given the task of starting a settlement in Bluff Utah (SE Utah). They gathered in Escalante and made their way 57 miles over very rough country to the Colorado River. Here they were forced to build a road down the sides of the canyon in order to cross the river and continue on to the Bluff area. The trip took 6 months.

Check out “Hurricane Wash” in my pastel gallery.

Hole In The Rock