Stephen C. Datz - With Only Silence for Company (PLV90469-1220-017)

18.5" x 36.25" framed. "Interstate 70 passes through some amazing country as it winds its way across Utah, and this painting depicts an area in central Utah described only on the map as “Sinbad Country”. It seemed unlikely that any pirates or legendary heroes resided here, so I looked up the name and learned that it not only describes a fossil bearing layer of the Moenkopi formation called Sinbad Limestone, but that the geomorphology of the area - “arabesque monoliths of multiple shapes and colors reminiscent of scenes or castles described in The 1001 Nights (Arabian Knights)”, in which Sinbad the Sailor is a character – may have given rise to the fanciful name. Whatever the case may be, this is an area which I look forward to exploring further, given how marvelously beautiful this first view proved to be. The title refers both to the wonderful quietude found in places like this, and in a broader sense to the fact that nearly all of my working time in the field is spent alone, with only silence for company. Don’t worry – that’s how I like it." -Stephen C. Datz