| Western Art Collector magazine has issued its first ever
Utah section featuring the oil paintings of Utah artist R. Geoffrey
Blackburn. Mr. Blackburn has been painting Southwest desert
red rock landscapes since the early 1970's.
Double Arch Dawn, Red Dawn and Two in the Bush are
scenes from Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah. Castle
Tower 2.0 is a scene from Castle Valley, Utah east of Moab and
Knobs is a scene of the Colorado River along the 103 mile
White Rim Trail west of Moab, Utah.
R. Geoffrey Blackburn's first red rock landscape,
Desert Canyon started
out not as a desert painting, but as a Western "cowboy" piece
including a 5-man posse in hot pursuit galloping through a forest.
This earlier incarnation was displayed at the Old Jailhouse Gallery
in Taos, NM for several months until Blackburn retrieved it with the
idea of "making a few changes". Having recently returned
from Europe, the painting had a European "spaghetti western" feel to
it that had bothered Blackburn, so he decided to paint out the
forest and paint in a red rock desert landscape around the posse.
Having done that, he thought it still did not look right, so he
started painting out the posse and painting in more
desert until only the sheriff remained. Finally, he realized
that the sheriff had to go so he painted him out as well and the
first red rock landscape was created. In the right light one
could still see the "ghost" posse under the new painting.
Since Desert Canyons in 1974, Blackburn has painted several
Southwest red rock desert landscapes and a few Jackson Hole area
pieces as well. He also painted a series of surreal works he
calls his "Spaced Miners Series" representing his imaginative take
on the unearthly beauty of Southwest red rock landscapes as seen
from his uranium prospecting days.
The October 2009 edition is not Blackburn's first appearance in
Western Art Collector. His painting entitled
Desert Rules appeared in
the November 2008 edition.
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