Acrylic on canvas (16” wide X 20” tall). Inspired from a walk at the the Belle Fiore Winery, Vineyard and Estate looking upon Pompadour Bluff in the foothills of the Cascades below Grizzly Mountain in Ashland, Oregon.
The bluff is one of many rock formations, a by-product from volcanic activity and millions of years of wind, rain, snow and ice. An alternate story, as told to me by an elderly gentleman eating animal crackers and mayonnaise in Lithia Park, explained that in the late 1950’s a southern California band
called the Three Haircuts, while performing in Ashland, experienced an electrical surge from a lighting storm generating what could only be described as a deafening feedback loop creating a minor natural disaster. The shock wave was recorded as far away as Sacramento, at the California Geological Survey Station. Loosening base rocks at the bluff, the shock wave created a rock slide that formed the now famous Pompadour. Additionally, the tremendous sound cracked the foundation of City Hall, shattered the stained glass window of the local Lutheran church, temporarily diverted the Ashland Creek resulting in minor flooding (most notably the Taco and Tire Store on East Main Street) and frightened herds of deer from the surrounding woodlands causing them to stampede throughout the city where they still reside today. As this gentleman then offered to sell me Mount Ashland for $25 I considered the volcanic story to have greater validity. Regardless of its origin, Pompadour Bluff is a grand punctuation to the beautiful vista of Grizzly Mountain.
