Big Bend Cactus

6 X 8 Oil on Masonite $125 includes postage

I am getting the urge again - to travel to Big Bend. I'm not sure when the cactus start blooming, but I really need some photos! For those of you who haven't experienced Texas yet, you need to understand the nature of a trip to that part of Texas. Big Bend National Park is in the far SouthWest corner of the state and is the northern part of the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico. I live in the "heart" of Texas - about 70 miles southwest of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex - and it is a 2 days journey to Big Bend pulling an RV. You can do it in a day, but it's tiring for us old folks - and besides, getting there is half the fun. Once we are there, given the nature of the trip, we "need" to spend at least 3 full days there, so we are talking about a week away from home - at least. And since we are in the middle of the studio construction, it's just not possible to be away that long. Oh well - life is full of compromises, isn't it?
This view is from the road going into the Chisos Mountains - the mountain rainforest area that climbs 7800 feet in the middle of the park.
Genesis 2:9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

End of Day - Big Bend Parking Lot

20 X 24 Oil on Stretched Canvas $350

That is not a very imaginative or romantic title for this painting, but it is what it is. This is the end of the RV lot at Big Bend. Turn right and go home. Turn left and hike to the Rio Grande. And as unbelievable as it may seem, it rained! And then the sun came out. And we reveled in it.
That part of Texas had a wonderfully wet summer 2 years ago and we were there to enjoy some of it. It was hot and dusty several hours later, but we still got to enjoy the blessing of rain.
Another lesson in geography for the Texas uninitiated: Big Bend National Park is in the far South West reaches of Texas and consists of over 800,000 acres of extreme topography: from desert to river basin to high moutain rain forest. The vistas are endless and the remote location makes you feel as is you have stepped away from civilization and journeyed far farther that you have in actuality.
It takes a lot of effort and planning to get there - even for those of us who LIVE in Texas. I am looking forward to going back there, though, because we barely scratched the surface on our first visit.
Psalm 36:6
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
(There are over 300 mentions of mountains in the Bible - could this be one reason why so many people are attracted to them???)

Big Bend Overlook

I never get tired of painting Big Bend. Mike and I have visited once - and it took 2 LONG days to journey there. A friend spent part of his summer recently as a tour guide. He took many pictures and shared several with me. After the initial shock of seeing no trees for miles and miles, the vastness becomes quite appealing. Big Bend National Park consists of over one million square miles of incredible desert wilderness - and right in the middle is the Chisos Mountain range with an oasis of pine and fir trees and its own highly specialized ecosystem.

This 18 X 24 painting is available for purchase directly from me. dglincoln@embarqmail.com

Isaiah 49:10They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

Get a Horse

Here we are in Terlingua near Big Bend again at the Mercury mine. Can you see the rider in the distance? I guess when the mine played out, the owners just abandoned everything including a bunch of vehicles. There are some really neat buildings in the area, too, which will be painting subjects in the future.
This painting has an alternate title. The body of this old car is a rusted heap, but "The Chrome Still Shines". It kinda makes me think of Mike's wonderful Grandma who I miss the most during this time of year. Despite her failing eyes and body, there was still a spark in her that shined until the very end. Bommy, I sure miss you.
Contact me directly about this 16 X 20 oil on stretched canvas.
Luke 11:36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."

Fort Davis Revisited

This is the second time I have painted this image. I sold the first little one on a 6 X 8 panel and had a request to do another. This is a test in consistency for me. Rarely do my larger paintings look exactly like the small versions. I always seem to change something - color, composition - something. This one I kept fairly close to the first, although I "zoomed" in on the house a little more.

This is one of the officer's homes (I think there were at least 4 like this one) at Fort Davis, Texas, near Big Bend National Park.

This 8 X 10 oil on canvas with painted sides can be purchased from me for $100 or can be found in a gallery in Thurber, Texas, when it dries.

1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

Get A Horse 2

Last Spring I found this old International truck near a mercury mine near Terlingua which is near Big Bend National Park. This is the second time I have painted it, and I'm not through yet! Getting it up the mountain in the first place must have been an event in itself. The trail to the mine is quite a bit less than well graded and was pretty rough in our 4-wheel drive jeep! Temperatures in this part of Texas get over 110 in August and rainfall is less than 16 inches a year - making the area a true desert and quite formidable. Many people live here, however - some without electricity and running water. Instead they utilize solar power and catching rainwater. Gotta love it!
Psalm 68:16 Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the LORD himself will dwell forever?

Get a Horse

I found this old truck near an abandoned mine in Big Bend State Park last spring. I love old farm trucks and this one begged to be put in a landscape. There really was a cliff like this nearby, too, and the vision of the rider was easy for my imagination to come up with. I just returned from Perdenales State Park, but Big Bend remains my favorite to paint, I think.
This painting is 9 X 12 on canvas board and can be purchased from me for $100 before it goes up for auction on eBay. dglincoln@embarqmail.com

Mark 6:56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.