Vanishing Point in Colorado

MARTHA MARKS COMMENTS ON BERNARD MARKS’ EVOCATIVE “VANISHING POINT IN COLORADO”:

In this beloved watercolor, “Vanishing Point in Colorado,” Bernie preserved a very special real-life memory of ours.

At the height of autumn in 2004, we were in Ouray, Colorado, enjoying that charming old mining town and exploring the surrounding area. We spent a whole glorious day in the Uncompahgre River Valley north of Ouray. I photographed migrating birds as he did watercolor sketches of the ranch houses, fences, wetlands, trees, and mountains that lined the road.

Late that afternoon, a couple on horseback, accompanied by their three lively dogs, came down the road toward us. They stopped and chatted for a while, then moved on. Recognizing an opportunity for Bernie to incorporate their wonderful human and animal figures into the rustic setting, I made some shots as they departed.

But when they were just a short distance away, a truck came flying down the road from the right, kicking up dust in front of Bernie and me as it swerved around the riders, horses, and dogs. I caught it, too, as it disappeared in the distance.

After we returned to Santa Fe, Bernie captured that experience in this lovely watercolor, based on his sketches and photos of the setting and my shots of the people, their animals, and the truck.

He called it “Vanishing Point in Colorado,” a double reference to the fast-fading way of life in the valley and also the term artists use to describe the illusion that parallel lines ultimately converge and disappear in the distance, as the road does here.

Bernie chose to frame and keep that painting. For many years, it hung in our home, but it’s now for sale here, for the first time ever.

Later on, he repainted the scene in acrylic: “A Disappearing Lifestyle.”

BERNIE MADE 9 WATERCOLORS FROM THAT ONE MEMORABLE TRIP: “Above the Uncompahgre,” “Aspen Shadows,” “Morning in Ouray,” “Mountain Color,” “Mountain Stream in Fall,” “Riding a Country Road,” “Snowy Tracks,” “Winter Rapids,” and “Vanishing Point in Colorado.”

This framed original painting is available for purchase, as are large, top-quality, custom-made archival giclée prints.

Medium: watercolor
Size: 13.5″x 20″ (framed: 22″ x 29″)

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.)

FRAMED ORIGINAL PAINTING: $2,400
TOP-QUALITY GICLEE PRINT ON THICK ARCHIVAL PAPER: $450
Contact Martha Marks if you’d prefer a different size print.

Return to the COLORADO page of the Watercolor Landscapes section.
Return to the WATERCOLOR FIGURES section: PEOPLE or ANIMALS.

Vanishing Point in Colorado