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Sage with Train
by Andrew Harmantas
Oil on linen on birch panel
Original Painting
Image size 12" x 24"
Framed size 13" x 25" (deep-brushed aluminum silver-toned gallery frame)
Out in the badlands near Kingman, Arizona, the Santa Fe mainline passes over
high desert country, with sage bushes dotting the landscape. On one cross country drive,
we stopped to take a walk in the desert and wait for a train to pass. One did, and it kicked
up dust as it roared by us along a ridge line. And yes, there actually was a Western Maryland
boxcar on the train I saw. What I didn't realize at the time, is that desert sage is highly fragrant,
and brushing up against it releases aromatic oils that are rather pervasive. Back in the confines of
my Pontiac, heading west on US 66, I began feeling cranky as I was enveloped by the strongest
odor of sage I could have imagined. To this day, I avoid sage except in very small amounts.
Aside from that particular experience, driving along the Santa Fe in New Mexico and
Arizona is always inspiring. The landscape speaks "Southwest" with aplomb.
Characterized by bright sunlit vistas, the Desert Southwest has become a
Mecca for artists painting in the western art genre, and seeing Santa Fe
Warbonnets darting across the landscape is just part of the fabric.
SOLD
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