After traveling through the depressing landscape of oil fields, tumble weeds and tumbling trash piles blown about by the unrelenting wind on the Texas plains, the Davis Mountains rise up almost shockingly- the land changes so quickly near Pecos, Texas.
These Texas Mountains keep their secrets. From afar, they appear rosy and mostly barren- but plant life and wildlife abound when you are in the high passes and the valleys. And spring, spring, glorious spring, brings out beautiful colors in the desert. Ocatillo blossoms are coral red and improbably tall. Prickly pears stud the in-between-spaces with purple, green, and warm yellow flowers. The desert has so many faces, so many colors. Fragrant, four foot tall bluebonnets run rampant, if you know where to look for them.
We spent about a week in West Texas, primarily in Big Bend, Terlingua and Boquillas. It was not nearly enough time. We met hospitable people in various towns, enjoyed a meal in Mexico after crossing the Rio Grande on a rowboat, and hiked the Chisos and Davis Mountains.
Apart from the natural beauty of the land, I so enjoyed the time I spent with the people I met along the border. A series is taking shape in my mind (and on my easel), juxtaposing the arresting landscape, the kindness we encountered, and the views of people at the border, with the political rhetoric we are fed through the news and social media.
“The Wall” is an inescapable spectre. It is part of our national zeitgeist, and its implications become more tangible the closer you get to the border. Locals share their views in road signs and embroidered trinkets, while those far away spin away at their fear-fueled agenda. The backdrop to all this is the land herself. Eternal, sharp edged, and oblivious to these man-made cares. The land, and the creatures abiding there, and the cross-border dialogue of the locals tell a much different story than the myths we read online.
What is a chimera? It is a fearsome beast; but it is also an illusion. So much of what we read is built on carefully crafted propaganda: intended to elicit an emotional response. And then, there is the concrete: Earth, and animals, and people who cultivate their lives on this land.
Ocatillos, oil and mixed media, 2019
A “forest” of whimsical ocatillos blooms on the border between Texas and Mexico. These improbable plants grow to be more than twelve feet tall.
