A Note on "Utah Ranch"

I have spent much time in the mountains and deserts of Southern Utah. On numerous such occasions, for as long as I can remember, I have experienced feelings, difficult to verbalize, which are akin to loneliness, yet tinged with a feeling of well-being and contentment. Evidence of man (a house, a lone rider, a structure) within this great expanse magnified this feeling. Could this be because it had to do with home? Perhaps this is why it is so satisfying to me to paint these old places worn by time and the elements which seem to say, “Someone lived here.” To some, this painting may simply be a mirror held up to nature, a portrait of a specific place; however, I hope that to many kindred souls its content might arouse the kind of feeling described above.