San Xavier del Bac

I live and work with a painter and sculptor, my wife JoAnn.  This leads to some interesting conversation when we find time to sit and enjoy a cup of tea or a soda.   JoAnn has been a painter for many years.  After we were married she found it convenient to continue her education.   Besides acquiring advanced degrees in art, she developed skills in sculpture and the process of casting her work in resin and/or bronze.  I have posted some of these castings in the past, but for this post I have selected one of her paintings in a series entitled "Arizona As I See It".  The 4 1/2 ft. square oil painting shown below is a version of San Xavier Mission which is located just a few miles from Tucson.  Take a look and then I will comment on techniques and related features.

I have visited the mission a number of times.  It is a favorite stop on our tour for visiting friends and family.  The rendering of the building is quite accurate, down to the one unfinished tower.  The Arizona sunset and native concession of fried bread, etc. is familiar.  What you will not see when you visit are the caverns and stone formations in the foreground.  This is the hallmark of this series; an accurate presentation above ground and the fictional world under foot.  Most of these fictional landscapes also have hints of creatures hidden in the shadows.  The surprising thing about this particular under ground landscape is that it could actually reflect the terrain under the surface in this area.  Limestone layers buried in this valley has reportedly been eroded away by underground water to form caverns that run  south for miles.  Several well known local cave systems formed in this way over time, are another stop on our visitors touring schedule.

This pattern of realism on top and fantasy under ground is the distinguishing factor of this series that JoAnn has created of local scenes,  Others will be presented in my posts from time to time as we progress.

*More detail on our art can be found at our website <www.apatchablue.com>