Alburquerque/Santa Fe, NM - A Wave as I Flew Over (sketch)

My only experience in the Southwest was in the Alburquerque airport, and you can't really call that an experience.  That's like going to a shopping mall and hoping to get a sense of local culture.

While perusing one of the gift shops I came across these great art cards inspired by the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration--LOVED THEM, bought many, inspired me to create a picture of my own in tribute to my passing through/over.  I might be able to get back to the southwest sooner than I thought, but until it's official I'm keeping mum.

This was a quick practice sketch I threw together mere minutes (literally!) before I boarded my flight--I thought I had about an hour to kill but I skipped a time zone in there somewhere or spent too much time perusing the shops or something, so it was a bit of a surprise when I'd just settled in to start this and heard the boarding announcement.  I haven't had time to work on developing this further as a final, but you should expect to see a finished version (and probably more like it) later in ink or mixed media tissue collage.  Trust me, the final version(s) WILL look a thousand times better, and just like those art cards.