Cerrillos
MARTHA MARKS COMMENTS ON BERNARD MARKS’ EVOCATIVE WATERCOLOR OF THE GHOST TOWN “CERRILLOS”:
In this charming watercolor, Bernie captures the essence of First Street in “downtown” Cerrillos, New Mexico. Cerrillos is Spanish for “little hills,” which accurately describes the town’s scenic physical setting.
Locally, Cerrillos is considered a ghost town, even though people do live there. As the painting shows, the town boasts Mary’s Bar; a few antique shops, art galleries, and bars; and St. Joseph Catholic Church. There’s also the Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum, Cerrillos Hills State Park, and other amenities. But still… it really does feel like a ghost town. It’s not even located directly on the main mountain road, which bypasses it as it always has.
Once upon a time — going back a thousand years, deep into its pre-Spanish history — Cerrillos was the heart of a thriving turquoise-mining industry. Mines filled the nearby mountains, including Mount Chalchihuitl, which was once the site of the most active turquoise-mining operation in North America. Gold miners came here to try their luck as well, but those efforts were not nearly as successful.
That history explains the name of today’s Highway 14 scenic route that gives travelers their only non-Interstate alternative between Albuquerque to Santa Fe. The Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway passes through one “ghost town,” Madrid — pronounced Mad-rid around these parts — and skirts around another, Cerrillos.
For a broader, landscape-level look at this so-called ghost town, see Bernie’s watercolor “View of Cerrillos.”
This original painting is available for purchase, as are large, top-quality, custom-made giclée prints.
- Medium: watercolor
- Unframed, ready to be matted and framed
- Size: 14″ x 21.5″
TO PLACE AN ORDER…
Choose a link below for the painting or print of your choice. (Prices include all applicable taxes. If shipping is needed, that additional cost will depend on the distance from Santa Fe and the price of packaging.)
2. TOP-QUALITY GICLEE PRINT ON THICK ARCHIVAL PAPER, same size as the original: $400
Contact Martha Marks if you’d prefer a different size print.
RETURN to the New Mexico page of the Watercolor Landscapes section.
This painting and all reproductions of it are © Bernard Marks Fine Art LLC. No unauthorized use is permitted. All rights reserved.