© Ellen Barone.
The luminous hues of New Mexico, and Taos in particular, have long inspired painters and photographers. Its colorful tapestry of banded cliffs, water sculpted arroyos and high desert mountain wilderness seem ready-made for artists. Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “If you go to New Mexico, it’ll itch you for the rest of your life.” It’s true. I came to New Mexico for a week more than a decade ago and returned 14-months later to stay a lifetime. I am at home here in a way I never felt back East, my ‘home’ for some 30 years.
Last weekend during a relaxing wintertime escape to the legendary artist colony we were driving back from dinner when this scene lit up before us. Pulling the car over to catch the momentary flash of shimmering pre-sunset light I managed to capture just this one image before the sun dipped below the mesa. The photo stirs up such pleasant memories of the moment that I think I’ll use our new online fine art gallery to order a giclée canvas print for the house.
* You may recall another Taos favorite was featured as photo-of-the-week on May 25, 2007.