Collection: Bridle Path, 2001

A friend and I were sketching trees on Haleakala Ranch when the rancher happened by. He noticed our tree drawings and asked if we were interested in seeing a full bloom jacaranda tree in the horse pasture above. We headed up in his truck as the sun sank towards the horizon. The long low light was streaking across the road in a blaze of orange. Though we were too late to see the jacaranda lit by the sunset, I was taken with the light streaking across the road, and knew I wanted to paint it.

The rancher mentioned that the pasture would soon be transformed with tents and tables, music and merriment for his wedding reception. I showed the finished painting to my friend, writer Rita Goldman, and told her about the wedding party. She suggested the title 'Bridal Path' with its implicit pun in jest. I thought it was perfect.

Unfortunately, the original title has caused me no end of trouble because people in my office think they are doing me a favor by correcting what they thought was a misspelling. I've since relented and allowed it to be spelled 'Bridle Path' because it's now propagated throughout our literature and database. The problem is that this story's content reflects the original spelling of Bridal Path.