To join group: Join RedBubble or Login

American Southwest

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming

Featured Work

Lost in the Treaty by deborah zaragoza

/ Lost in the Treaty FEATURED in the following groups: American Southwest Nov 05, 2009 American Patriot Oct. 10, 2009 Strictly Human Faces Sept 28, 2009 Ethnic Art Sept. 20, 2009 / Freedom to Shine Sept 20, 2009 / Spirit of the Native American Sept 21, 2009 / Digital Artists United /
Round Rock by pmistric

The water tower in Round Rock, Texas. RedBubble Art Feature “Texas” RedBubble Art Feature “Metallic Junktion RedBubble Art Feature “American Southwest”
West Mitten East Mitten and Merrick Butte by paolo1955

Monument Valley Tribal Park, Navajo Nation – Arizzona – U.S.A / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—- / Featured in American Southwest Group November – 05 – 2009 / -—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-——- Challenge Winner in American Southwest Group – Sunshine “on the Rocks” Challenge September – 13 – 2009 / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-— Featured in The Greatest View in the World Group May – 16 – 2009 / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—— Featured in National Parks of the World Group May – 09 – 2009 / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—— Featured in Natural Color and Light Group May – 06 – 2009 / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—— Featured in Rural Around The Globe Group May – 26 – 2009 / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-——- The Mittens and Merrick Butte The initial descent from the visitor center includes the roughest section of the whole road, where it traverses a steep, rocky hillside via a series of switchbacks, but this difficult part is quite short and the road soon levels out, then passes by three of the most famous Monument Valley formations, all on the east side – West Mitten Butte (which may be seen close up via the 3.2 mile Wildcat Trail), Merrick Butte and East Mitten Butte. On the right side of the road, the flat land is bordered by the eastern face of Mitchell Mesa, rising 1,000 feet above. A side track forks north near Merrick Butte, but like all back roads in the park this may only be traveled as part of a Navajo guided tour. Nikon F90x camera Sigma 28/70 lens Fuji Film Superia 200 iso Nikon Coolscan III
Crystal Lite by Linda Sparks

Just a tiny part of the crystals displayed against black cloth and lite from behind and within. I was mezmerised and took several pics of these. Even at the Tucson gem show they were expensive, so now I can hang a whole grouping for next to nothing. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
Very Large Array by Vicki Pelham

VLA – Very Large Array National Radio Astronomy Observatory, west central New Mexico, USA. /
Ranchos de Taos by ria hills

The original pastel painting is 10 1/2” by 7 1/2” San Francisco de Asis Church in Taos, New Mexico. Also known as Ranchos de Taos. I just love these structures. The more scenes I paint of New Mexico, the more I want to go back to visit.
Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) by Terence Russell

Taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i HDR info / tripod, 3 RAW images +2 to -2, Photomatrix Pro 3.2 Historical Background / ALAMO, BATTLE OF THE. The siege and the final assault on the Alamo in 1836 constitute the most celebrated military engagement in Texas history. The battle was conspicuous for the large number of illustrious personalities among its combatants. These included Tennessee congressman David Crockett,qv entrepreneur-adventurer James Bowie, and Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna. Although not nationally famous at the time, William Barret Travis achieved lasting distinction as commander at the Alamo. For many Americans and most Texans, the battle has become a symbol of patriotic sacrifice. Traditional popular depictions, including novels, stage plays, and motion pictures, emphasize legendary aspects that often obscure the historical event. To understand the real battle, one must appreciate its strategic context in the Texas Revolution.qv In December 1835 a Federalist army of Texan (or Texian,qv as they were called) immigrants, American volunteers, and their Tejanoqv allies had captured the town from a Centralist force during the siege of Bexar. With that victory, a majority of the Texan volunteers of the “Army of the People” left service and returned to their families. Nevertheless, many officials of the provisional governmentqv feared the Centralists would mount a spring offensive. Two main roads led into Texas from the Mexican interior. The first was the Atascosito Road, which stretched from Matamoros on the Rio Grande northward through San Patricio, Goliad, Victoria, and finally into the heart of Austin’s colony. The second was the Old San Antonio Road, a camino real that crossed the Rio Grande at Paso de Francia (the San Antonio Crossing) and wound northeastward through San Antonio de Béxar, Bastrop, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, and across the Sabine River into Louisiana. Two forts blocked these approaches into Texas: Presidio La Bahía (Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio) at Goliad and the Alamo at San Antonio. Each installation functioned as a frontier picket guard, ready to alert the Texas settlements of an enemy advance. James Clinton Neill received command of the Bexar garrison. Some ninety miles to the southeast, James Walker Fannin, Jr., subsequently took command at Goliad. Most Texan settlers had returned to the comforts of home and hearth. Consequently, newly arrived American volunteers-some of whom counted their time in Texas by the week-constituted a majority of the troops at Goliad and Bexar. Both Neill and Fannin determined to stall the Centralists on the frontier. Still, they labored under no delusions. Without speedy reinforcements, neither the Alamo nor Presidio La Bahía could long withstand a siege. At Bexar were some twenty-one artillery pieces of various caliber. Because of his artillery experience and his regular army commission, Neill was a logical choice to command. Throughout January he did his best to fortify the mission fort on the outskirts of town. Maj. Green B. Jameson, chief engineer at the Alamo, installed most of the cannons on the walls. Jameson boasted to Gen. Sam Houstonqv that if the Centralists stormed the Alamo, the defenders could “whip 10 to 1 with our artillery.” Such predictions proved excessively optimistic. Far from the bulk of Texas settlements, the Bexar garrison suffered from a lack of even basic provender. On January 14 Neill wrote Houston that his people were in a “torpid, defenseless condition.” That day he dispatched a grim message to the provisional government: “Unless we are reinforced and victualled, we must become an easy prey to the enemy, in case of an attack.” By January 17, Houston had begun to question the wisdom of maintaining Neill’ s garrison at Bexar. On that date he informed Governor Henry Smithqv that Col. James Bowie and a company of volunteers had left for San Antonio. Many have cited this letter as proof that Houston ordered the Alamo abandoned. Yet, Houston’s words reveal the truth of the matter: “I have ordered the fortifications in the town of Bexar to be demolished, and, if you should think well of it, I will remove all the cannon and other munitions of war to Gonzales and Copano, blow up the Alamo and abandon the place, as it will be impossible to keep up the Station with volunteers, the sooner I can be authorized the better it will be for the country [italics added].” Houston may have wanted to raze the Alamo, but he was clearly requesting Smith’s consent. Ultimately, Smith did not “think well of it” and refused to authorize Houston’ s proposal. On January 19, Bowie rode into the Alamo compound, and what he saw impressed him. As a result of much hard work, the mission had begun to look like a fort. Neill, who well knew the consequences of leaving the camino real unguarded, convinced Bowie that the Alamo was the only post between the enemy and Anglo settlements. Neill’s arguments and his leadership electrified Bowie. “I cannot eulogize the conduct & character of Col. Neill too highly,” he wrote Smith; “no other man in the army could have kept men at this post, under the neglect they have experienced.” On February 2 Bowie wrote Smith that he and Neill had resolved to “die in these ditches” before they would surrender the post. The letter confirmed Smith’s understanding of controlling factors. He had concluded that Bexar must not go undefended. Rejecting Houston’s advice, Smith prepared to funnel additional troops and provisions to San Antonio. In brief, Houston had asked for permission to abandon the post. Smith considered his request. The answer was no. Colonel Neill had complained that “for want of horses,” he could not even “send out a small spy company.” If the Alamo were to function as an early-warning station, Neill had to have outriders. Now fully committed to bolstering the Bexar garrison, Smith directed Lt. Col. William B. Travis to take his “Legion of Cavalry” and report to Neill. Only thirty horsemen responded to the summons. Travis pleaded with Governor Smith to reconsider: “I am unwilling to risk my reputation (which is ever dear to a soldier) by going off into the enemy’ s country with such little means, and with them so badly equipped.” Travis threatened to resign his commission, but Smith ignored these histrionics. At length, Travis obeyed orders and dutifully made his way toward Bexar with his thirty troopers. Reinforcements began to trickle into Bexar. On February 3, Travis and his cavalry contingent reached the Alamo. The twenty-six-year-old cavalry officer had traveled to his new duty station under duress. Yet, like Bowie, he soon became committed to Neill and the fort, which he began to describe as the “key to Texas.” About February 8, David Crockett arrived with a group of American volunteers. On February 14 Neill departed on furlough. He learned that illness had struck his family and that they desperately needed him back in Bastrop. While on leave, Neill labored to raise funds for his Bexar garrison. He promised that he would resume command when circumstances permitted, certainly within twenty days, and left Travis in charge as acting post commander. Neill had not intended to slight the older and more experienced Bowie, but Travis, like Neill, held a regular army commission. For all of his notoriety, Bowie was still just a volunteer colonel. The Alamo’s volunteers, accustomed to electing their officers, resented having this regular officer foisted upon them. Neill had been in command since January; his maturity, judgment, and proven ability had won the respect of both regulars and volunteers. Travis, however, was unknown. The volunteers insisted on an election, and their acting commander complied with their wishes. The garrison cast its votes along party lines: the regulars voted for Travis, the volunteers for Bowie. In a letter to Smith, Travis claimed that the election and Bowie’s subsequent conduct had placed him in an “awkward situation.” The night following the balloting, Bowie dismayed Bexar residents with his besotted carousal. He tore through the town, confiscating private property and releasing convicted felons from jail. Appalled by this disorderly exhibition, Travis assured the governor that he refused to assume responsibility “for the drunken irregularities of any man”-not even the redoubtable Jim Bowie. Fortunately, this affront to Travis’s sense of propriety did not produce a lasting breach between the two commanders. They struck a compromise: Bowie would command the volunteers, Travis the regulars. Both would co-sign all orders and correspondence until Neill’s return. There was no more time for personality differences. They had learned that Santa Anna’s Centralist army had reached the Rio Grande. Though Travis did not believe that Santa Anna could reach Bexar until March 15, his arrival on February 23 convinced him otherwise. As Texans gathered in the Alamo, Travis dispatched a hastily scribbled missive to Gonzales: “The enemy in large force is in sight. We want men and provisions. Send them to us. We have 150 men and are determined to defend the garrison to the last.” Travis and Bowie understood that the Alamo could not hold without additional forces. Their fate now rested with the General Council in San Felipe, Fannin at Goliad, and other Texan volunteers who might rush to assist the beleaguered Bexar garrison. Santa Anna sent a courier to demand that the Alamo surrender. Travis replied with a cannonball. There could be no mistaking such a concise response. Centralist artillerymen set about knocking down the walls. Once the heavy pounding reduced the walls, the garrison would have to surrender in the face of overwhelming odds. Bottled up inside the fort, the Texans had only one hope-that reinforcements would break the siege. On February 24 Travis assumed full command when Bowie fell victim to a mysterious malady variously described as “hasty consumption” or “typhoid pneumonia.” As commander, Travis wrote his letter addressed to the “people of Texas & all Americans in the world,” in which he recounted that the fort had “sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours.” He pledged that he would “never surrender or retreat” and swore “Victory or Death.” The predominant message, however, was an entreaty for help: “I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch.” On March 1, thirty-two troops attached to Lt. George C. Kimbell’s Gonzales ranging company made their way through the enemy cordon and into the Alamo. Travis was grateful for any reinforcements, but knew he needed more. On March 3 he reported to the convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos that he had lost faith in Colonel Fannin. “I look to the colonies alone for aid; unless it arrives soon, I shall have to fight the enemy on his own terms.” He grew increasingly bitter that his fellow Texans seemed deaf to his appeals. In a letter to a friend, Travis revealed his frustration: “If my countrymen do not rally to my relief, I am determined to perish in the defense of this place, and my bones shall reproach my country for her neglect.” On March 5, day twelve of the siege, Santa Anna announced an assault for the following day. This sudden declaration stunned his officers. The enemy’s walls were crumbling. No Texan relief column had appeared. When the provisions ran out, surrender would remain the rebels’ only option. There was simply no valid military justification for the costly attack on a stronghold bristling with cannons. But ignoring these reasonable objections, Santa Anna stubbornly insisted on storming the Alamo. Around 5:00 A.M. on Sunday, March 6, he hurled his columns at the battered walls from four directions. Texan gunners stood by their artillery. As about 1,800 assault troops advanced into range, canister ripped through their ranks. Staggered by the concentrated cannon and rifle fire, the Mexican soldiers halted, reformed, and drove forward. Soon they were past the defensive perimeter. Travis, among the first to die, fell on the north bastion. Abandoning the walls, defenders withdrew to the dim rooms of the Long Barracks. There some of the bloodiest hand-to-hand fighting occurred. Bowie, too ravaged by illness to rise from his bed, found no pity. The chapel fell last. By dawn the Centralists had carried the works. The assault had lasted no more than ninety minutes. As many as seven defenders survived the battle, but Santa Anna ordered their summary execution. Many historians count Crockett as a member of that hapless contingent, an assertion that still provokes debate in some circles. By eight o’clock every Alamo fighting man lay dead. Currently, 189 defenders appear on the official list, but ongoing research may increase the final tally to as many as 257. Though Santa Anna had his victory, the common soldiers paid the price as his officers had anticipated. Accounts vary, but best estimates place the number of Mexicans killed and wounded at about 600. Mexican officers led several noncombatant women, children, and slaves from the smoldering compound (see ALAMO NONCOMBATANTS). Santa Anna treated enemy women and children with admirable gallantry. He pledged safe passage through his lines and provided each with a blanket and two dollars. The most famous of these survivors were Susanna W. Dickinson, widow of Capt. Almaron Dickinson, and their infant daughter, Angelina Dickinson. After the battle, Mrs. Dickinson traveled to Gonzales. There, she reported the fall of the post to General Houston. The sad intelligence precipitated a wild exodus of Texan settlers called the Runaway Scrape. What of real military value did the defenders’ heroic stand accomplish? Some movies and other works of fiction pretend that Houston used the time to raise an army. During most of the siege, however, he was at the Convention of 1836qv at Washington-on-the-Brazos and not with the army. The delay did, on the other hand, allow promulgation of independence, formation of a revolutionary government, and the drafting of a constitution. If Santa Anna had struck the Texan settlements immediately, he might have disrupted the proceedings and driven all insurgents across the Sabine River. The men of the Alamo were valiant soldiers, but no evidence supports the notion-advanced in the more perfervid versions-that they “joined together in an immortal pact to give their lives that the spark of freedom might blaze into a roaring flame.” Governor Smith and the General Council ordered Neill, Bowie, and Travis to hold the fort until support arrived. Despite all the “victory or death” hyperbole, they were not suicidal. Throughout the thirteen-day siege, Travis never stopped calling on the government for the promised support. The defenders of the Alamo willingly placed themselves in harm’s way to protect their country. Death was a risk they accepted, but it was never their aim. Torn by internal discord, the provisional government could not deliver on its promise to provide relief, and Travis and his command paid the cost of that dereliction. As Travis predicted, his bones did reproach the factious politicos and the parade ground patriots for their neglect. Even stripped of chauvinistic exaggeration, however, the battle of the Alamo remains an inspiring moment in Texas history. The sacrifice of Travis and his command animated the rest of Texas and kindled a righteous wrath that swept the Mexicans off the field at San Jacinto. Since 1836, Americans on battlefields over the globe have responded to the exhortation, “Remember the Alamo!” / from The Handbook of Texas Online (Your best source for anything dealing with the State of Texas!) The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) is the most famous battle of the Texas Revolution. After a revolutionary army of Texian settlers and adventurers from the United States drove all Mexican troops out of Mexican Texas, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led an invasion to regain control of the area. Mexican forces arrived in San Antonio de Bexar on February 23 and initiated a siege of the Texian forces garrisoned at the Alamo Mission. In the early morning hours of March 6 the Mexican army launched an assault on the Alamo. The outnumbered Texians repulsed two attacks, but were unable to fend off a third. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texian soldiers retreated into the long barracks or the chapel. Several small groups who were unable to reach these points attempted to escape and were killed outside the walls by the waiting Mexican cavalry. The Mexican soldiers fought room-to-room and soon had control over the Alamo. Between five and seven Texians may have surrendered; if so, they were quickly executed on Santa Anna’s orders. Most eyewitness accounts reported between 182 and 257 Texian dead, while most Alamo historians agree that 400–600 Mexicans were killed or wounded. Of the Texians who fought during the battle, only two survived: Joe, spared because he was a slave, and Brigido Guerrero, a Mexican Army deserter who convinced Mexican soldiers he had been imprisoned. Women and children, primarily family members of the Texian soldiers, were questioned by Santa Anna and then released. On Santa Anna’s orders, three of the survivors were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat. After hearing this news, Texian army commander Sam Houston ordered a retreat; this sparked the Runaway Scrape, a mass exodus of citizens and the Texas government towards the east (away from the Mexican army). News of the Alamo’s fall prompted many Texas colonists to join Houston’s army. On the afternoon of April 21 the Texian army attacked Santa Anna’s forces in the Battle of San Jacinto. During the battle many Texians shouted “Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!” Santa Anna was captured and forced to order his troops out of Texas, ending Mexican control of the area, which subsequently became the Republic of Texas. By March 24 a list of names of the Texians who died at the Alamo had begun to be compiled. The first history of the battle was published in 1843, but serious study of the battle did not begin until after the 1931 publication of Amelia W. Williams’s dissertation attempting to identify all of the Texians who died at the Alamo. The first full-length, non-fiction book covering the battle was published in 1948. The battle was first depicted in film in the 1911 silent film The Immortal Alamo, and has since been featured in numerous movies, including one directed by John Wayne. The Alamo church building has been designated an official Texas state shrine, with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas acting as permanent caretakers. / / from Wikipedia / Featured in Texas
Glen Canyon Bridge by R. Mike "Jake" Jacobson

Featured in * / *American Southwest The late afternoon sun illuminates the rock wall and casts long shadows from the highway bridge at the Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona. Nikon D300 / Nikkor AF-S 16.85mm at 85mm (127mm equiv) / 1/1000 sec at f5.6 © R. Mike Jacobson – All Rights Reserved
Trois Bebe by Gary Lengyel

Three infant mountain goats atop Mt. Evans, Colorado Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens
Albuquerque Courtyard by Tomas Abreu

Chili ristras in Albuquerque, New Mexico Canon 40D / 1/30 sec @ f/16 ISO 200 / 40mm (Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM)
Dia de los Muertos III by Bezay

San Antonio Texas

Recent Work

A Cloud to Carry You Home by Steve Hunter

One of the more prominent grave markers in the Silver Terrace Cemetery in Virginia City Nevada. This cemetery was once considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the Western United States. It at one time had lush lawns and flowing water.
Whispy Sunset by CynLynn

Taken in the desert behind my sister’s house, sunset, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Bluebonnets in Las Colinas TX by plsphoto

Wildflowers covering a field in Las Colinas, TX
Welcome to the Hacienda by Linda Gregory

Situated just 65 miles from Tucson, Arizona, the 300-year-old property is one of the great haciendas in America. Established as a guest ranch in 1923, Rancho De La Osa’s history has been lovingly preserved in the beautiful buildings that rest comfortably in the rolling grasslands of the high Sonora Desert. The Cantina is said to be the oldest building in Arizona. Photographed with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28.
Corner on Color by David DeWitt

Store at the corner of two very old streets in Las Cruces, NM The area was renovated to it’s former glory. taken on my Canon XTi and 28-300mm lens.
Toes in the Sand by CynLynn

Buddie taking a break to put his toes in the sand. / On the desert dirt road, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Old Town Building by Nancy Stafford

old town center brick building / Placerville Calif / built 1849 / Camera used N90S / lens 28 to 105 / film Ektar print
Southwestern Palette of Color by Tim Scullion

Tim Scullion: Somewhere along the border of Utah and Arizona on a cloudy, dreary day. / Canon EOS Rebel / 18-55 mm lens
Graphite Excercise Indian Chief by graphiteaz

Original done in 2b pencil on illust. board. / Not for sale
Cycle Wheel by Linda Gregory

When I came across this motocycle at the Pima County Fair and started taking photographs of various details, the owner asked if I wanted a photo of the whole bike. I thanked him and said, no, I like the details. Photographed with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50.

A group for art from the American South Western states of Arizona
California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Ancient ruins and caves, Canyons and arches, beaches to mountains, volcanic craters to lakes; not to mention the wildlife that calls these states home. Show us your best images from some of the most beautiful places in the states that make up the South West of the USA

Please only use this group to showcase these beautiful states and what they have to offer not happy snaps of the family kitten in the back yard or images that focus on a person only. Any images of these nature will be automatically rejected with no reason.

Shot of the Week
California ~ Challenge winner
“Rising above the Fog” By Patricia Montgomery