Barbara J Carter

“Jacinto Reyes”, 2008, acrylic on paper, 5×5″ matted to 14×11″

Taking Route 33 north out of Ojai quickly transports you to a completely different world. The highway, called the Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway, twists its way through some of Southern California’s most beautiful and rugged terrain. Mile upon mile, the magnificent chaparral-covered hills rise above the road to either side. You quickly lose sight of anything manmade except the road itself. You might as well be on another planet, somewhere people have never set foot.

I always get excited when I stumble onto these remote regions, especially when they’re so easy to get to!

Still, I’m a little puzzled by this road. It’s in surprisingly good condition, seemingly newly repaved when I traveled it last fall. But it’s almost completely deserted. It doesn’t really go anywhere in particular: it connects to other roads which eventually lead to a few small towns. It’s certainly not a shortcut anywhere, nor even a reasonable alternate route to anyplace in particular.

There’s no reason to drive on this road, as far as I can tell, except to see the landscape. In this case, the journey really is the destination. It’s commonly said, but how often is it so true?

This painting is sold, but many others may be seen on my web site.

Email inquiries welcome: info@barbarajcarter.com