6 x 6 inches, oil on masonite, ©2009 Ann PainterSOLD
One of my students was staying in Coral Block in October. The room was not the best but she discovered this blue ladder leaning up against a cottonwood tree when she looked out the back window of her room. She pointed it out to me and I thought I knew exactly how I wanted to paint it. The challenge was putting a vertical image in a square format. I lay on the ground to photograph it hoping that would forshorten the ladder enough. There are several blue ladders leaning up against things at Ghost Ranch. It is a New Mexico thing originally intended to give access to the flat adobe roofs. Now, the ladders are mostly decorative, and some, like this one, are painted turquoise.
This ladder seems to reaching for the sky which is not a surprise at Ghost Ranch where many believe the space between heaven and earth is very thin. I don't know if this is why so many people are called back to Ghost Ranch over and over or if it is simply the beauty of this place that is filled with spirit and mystery. I wanted this painting to represent my spiritual experience of the Ranch. Since I started this painting, snow has started to fall from the heavens and accumulate on the earth. It seemed an interesting an appropriate addition to the painting.