This is a colored pencil painting I did this past July (2017). This piece was based on a photograph that I took while my wife and I, along with our two grown sons and their families, visited Southwest Colorado and Mesa Verde National Park. The subject of this piece is referred to as Cliff Palace and it represents the largest of the cliff dwelling complexes. I have entitled this piece "Spirit of Genius". These dwellings were built in the 13th century A.D. by ancient Pueblo people known as the Anasazi. Archeologists tell us that these ancient people had sophisticated mathematical knowledge based on the nature of the architecture and construction techniques they used. Natural rock overhangs referred to as alcoves were subdivided by walls to form separate rooms that were constructed of blocks of hard sandstone that were cut using even harder stone. The sandstone blocks were held together by adobe mortar. I was amazed by precise straight lines of the walls and windows and the ability to construct tall, stable structures that still stand today. No one sat down and taught them mathematics, yet they apparently had the innate ability to see projects and their solutions in mathematical terms. The cliff dwelling people lived for approximately 100 years in structures such as the Cliff Palace, and then simply disappeared. No one is sure what brought about their disappearance, but we can be sure that they did embody the "spirit of genius" and that this spirit is reinforced to day in all who visit this magnificent place.