ANTELOPE CANYON: PAGE, AZ – 30”W x 40”H” Abstract art has always fascinated me. To date, I have been too detail oriented to attempt an abstract piece. This piece is the closest I’ve come, yet it is actually representational. October, 2019, I visited Page, Arizona, near Lake Powell. Navajo Indians own the land called Antelope Canyon and give guided tours of the incredibly beautiful underground caves carved out by water. This painting is based on a photo I took during that tour. I have changed much about it, yet I’ve kept the initial elements that originally attracted me; Color, texture and compositional flow. There is a heavy gesso underpainting to achieve the desired texture. Before adding the gesso, I carefully drew the paintings base, then I used a pallet knife to glop on the gesso. While the gesso was wet, I took a fine-tooth comb and created the flow of the sandstone. I built the acrylic color on top of the gesso, hoping to come close to achieving the graceful beauty that nature created in these underground caves. Can I call it abstract?