Ganado, Arizona

By Carrie Jacobson

I loved the West. I loved the huge sky, the open plains, the amazing rock formations. I loved the mountains, the sagebrush, the cacti, the amazing dawns and dusks. I loved the tiny little towns, the big exotic cities, the adobe houses and mammoth ranches.

I loved how sunny and warm it was, how wild, how unpredictable. One moment I would be driving up a hilly little road, and the next moment, I’d be at 9,000 feet, looking out at mountaintops and seeing snow trapped in the shady hollows of the woods.

I was born out there, in Arizona, very close to the landscape I’ve painted here. I loved seeing the place where I was born, even if I don’t remember it much.

This was a great trip, and I loved nearly every minute of it. The best part was also the most surprising part, painting with my dad, outdoors, twice. How fantastic and rich to find something new that we share, him at 84 and me at 56.

And now, I am home, and happy to be home. Happy to have seen the world and come back to the quiet and the calm of the Eastern Shore.

As beautiful as were all the places I saw during this trip, there was no place… well, no place like home.

To see more paintings from my trip, click here to check out my blog, The Accidental Artist.