"Mesa Verde Moon"

A devastating fire swept through Mesa Verde National Park in the late eighties, destroying some 20,000 acres of vegetation. The fire, driven by intense heat and high winds on the plateau, swept through the area with such speed that even the tiniest branches, although leafless, remain on the burnt-out trees to this day creating a magical eeriness .

This work is not however about a romantic, moonlit landscape. It alludes to the reasons why the Anasazi suddenly “vanished”. The answer to this mystery has eluded archaeologists and students of Ancient Puebloan culture because civilizations seldom simply vanish…speculation, myth and distortion of historical fact have fuelled and indeed become part of the wider debate. Modern-day Puebloans of the area do not believe that the Anasazi vanished, but that they themselves are the direct descendents of the "Ancient Ones".

Signed lower right.  Size: 135 cm. x 120 cm. - 53in. x 47.25 in.  -  Date: 2006    -  Oil on Linen

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