The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX, was commissioned by Stanley Marsh 3 in 1974. (He thought III was too pretentious.) He hired a group of artists from San Francisco, known as the Ant Farm. The cars were originally installed on his property two miles to the east, but that property became too valuable as Amarillo grew. The cars were relocated in 1997.
The installation was to be an homage to the evolution of Cadillac tailfins. The cars range from 1948 to 1963 (some say 1964).
Leaving your mark with a can of spray paint is not just okay, it is encouraged, as long as you don't try to leave an advertisement - that requires permission from the artists (although, they disbanded in the late 70s.)
As someone was leaving, they handed David their spray can that still had a little fluorescent pink paint waiting to record David's wishes. He added DP + JG (my maiden name was Goodman) to the layers of latex.
Snap a picture fast because in an hour it will have another layer of latex over your artwork.
A church group on their way to Colorado from Harlingen, TX. They climbed aboard two of the colorful cars for what I am sure was a great picture among many they will cherish from their trip.
We headed, next, to the Amarillo Botanical Gardens. We were a little early, but the gardens were next to a park where Sam met his first box turtle. He was curious but cautious - not a bad combination.
Sam was curious, but when the Box turtle moved, Sam jumped back as if he was goosed.
The low early morning sun makes for a great "Texas Howdy" shadow wave.
Nothing ever explained the connection between a violin playing frog and the gardens, so it must have just been a bit of whimsy. I think they could have added some nice Mozart music, violin solos, obviously, on some outdoor speakers.
The beautiful flowers have to speak for themselves because so many were left unidentified.
Inside the conservatory were the exotic plants. I suppose the waterfall feature helped maintain the high humidity. It was also home to two lucky ducks who I am sure were very pampered. I learned too late the conservatory was also home to a lot of mosquitos.
This is a banana flower. The dark red (8" long and 5" wide) bud is the male flower.
The white (2-3" long) female flowers are what will eventually become bananas. A banana tree is not a tree at all, it is actually an herb, distantly related to ginger. Technically the banana is a berry.
We both loved the exquisite mosaic tile work in another of the outdoor gardens. I would guess it was at least 20 feet long and 9 feet high.
"Sentinel of the Canyon" 2008, by Kenneth and Tarrie Sue Pirtle
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