O'Keeffe Country

Gordon Louis Mortensen

Among the natural panoramas Gordon Mortensen was drawn to was the landscape that surrounds Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico, one that he returned to frequently, finding in its seasonal turns - and their respective flora - a unique and ever-changing palette. Ghost Ranch is a 21,000 acre retreat located near Abiquiu in North-central New Mexcio, 50 miles north of Santa Fe and was the home and studio of artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

In this composition, he captures the waves of golden native grasses and blossoming salvias that come alive in late summer. Fed by seasonal monsoons, the flora on the desert floor softens the harsh landscape, stretching between the dramatic, layered geological make-up of surrounding mesas, their hues as varied as a sunset.

Abiquiu, where Georgia O’Keeffe built her home and studio, is located in Rio Arriba County in Northern New Mexico. In his woodcut, In his woodcut, O'Keeffe Country, Mortensen depicts the high mesas, the unique land formations, the well-timbered Carson National Forest, and the vast grasslands that nourished O’Keeffe’s soul.

Gordon Mortensen commented on the reduction process he uses: "Only one woodblock is used. On it an image is drawn in India ink. Before the first color is printed, any areas that are to remain unprinted (white or the color of the paper) are cut away from the surface of the block. Then an oil base ink is used to print the first color on all of the sheets of paper that are to be used for the edition and proofs.

After the first printing the block is again cut, removing any surface of the block that is to remain the first color in the finished print. After each subsequent color is printed, the block is cut, the process continues until the print is finished and most of the surface of the block is cut away."