Monument Canyon - Colored Pencil Drawing
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUpbp16-jGO8rnNMldil6-ksJuVjFQg4wQgIDyT1foGjT72XlB8cxZok2DERt-C2ol3E2NQwLey-OiQW3RAfgnnS-0wzGVhVxvsk_im6KhCiN0U5FAJ8n1-nFDuGv2_TfhVUL0e4d03CB/s1600/ColoNatMonument.jpg)
"Monument Canyon" Colored Pencil Out in western Colorado, the pinon-covered plateau is sliced by a peculiar gorge that appears more alien than Mars. Under a searing, summer sun, Monument Canyon is an inconceivable gateway to the Great American Desert but this sweeping panorama isn't make-believe. Like some garden of unearthly delights, chiseled sandstone pinnacles tower above a devil's den of arid habitat. The dazzling landscape is distinguished by sharp contrasts in value and color. In order to express the oppressive heat, a palette of warm tones is required. Beaming down from above, a radiant light polishes the red rocks with bleached highlights and dark shadows. Below, colors clash on the canyon floor where passages of green brush speckle the scorched earth. Behind, a hazy shelf of Book Cliffs becomes blueish-gray. The piece is meant to be an accurate representation of the view from an outstanding overlook along Rim Rock Drive. So if it seems like a stud