Road. That’s the theme this round, and this was the first thing that I thought of when I read the prompt:

 This is a painting I just love– “Garroby Hill” by David Hockney–and I will confess that the piece I am working on for the challenge owes more than a little to this painting! I do love a good road trip, and preferably on back roads, rather than main highways. As a child, growing up in Idaho, my folks were always loading us up into the family station wagon and off we would go, through the farmland and the forests and the mountains, to the family cabin, or on an adventure of some kind. I loved being in the car, watching the farms and fields, the cows and sheep, the wide vistas and the forests that were dark and mysterious speed past; singing, playing games to pass the time and making lists of which state license plates we spotted. Somehow this painting, even though it represents a place in England I have never visited, brings back those back road memories.

Several years ago my friend, June, and I took a trip to San Francisco to see a big exhibit of David Hockney’s work. One of his most visited themes is roads, I learned, and I was thrilled to follow along on his road trips. I especially loved a particular room that featured video of the same country road in all seasons, projected onto the four walls of the room. The road beckons–come along….

A small sample of Hockney’s roads: