This artist was hard at work right next to me at the Arizona lookout at Hoover Dam. We were facing away from the dam, looking off in the distance of Lake Mead.

I quietly took this snap, not talking to the artist. I wondered why he wasn’t painting the dam and opting for a scenic yet ordinary landscape. Was he not interested in the architecture? Or was a painting of the Hoover Dam too expected? His painting look better and more colorful than in reality. Perhaps he was envisioning a beautiful oasis.

You can clearly see the low water level from this vantage point. The transition from the dark to white stone is a dead giveaway. Lower levels are a problem of power generation and water usage, but it doesn’t significantly affect the aesthetics.

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