CANYON OF DEATH (2016) by Michael Whelan, week 37 in his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project.

This one was created with leftover paint, Raw Umber and white on a palette I was using while trying to cover up spots on an oil painting. Wiggly lines made on a scrap of canvas suggested a figure and scene to me.

Often when I’m painting off-the-cuff like this I can’t say why I felt attracted to the particular subject. It kind of just happens.

Admittedly here, I had been looking at some slides of my old paintings from college, many of which betray my Frazetta influences, so perhaps I was channeling that when I got into this little piece.