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Tracy’s Boulder

Painting Completed 1984, 28”x40”, Acrylic on Masonite

Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt have finished their work at Station Six and are loading the Lunar Rover with their rock samples and experiments. Although our planet earth is not visible in this painting, it is some 239,000 miles away in the direction the Rover antenna is pointing.

This panoramic view of the Taurus-Littrow Valley with South Massif to the right and East Massif on the left, give an idea of the majestic vistas that await earthlings of future generations. Someday this might be the site of a scientific station, or maybe a shopping center or housing development. When I showed this painting to Gene Cernan, he told me how he had scooped a dirt and dust sample from the left side of this massive boulder. He said he wished he had thought of writing his daughter’s name in the dust, but the idea didn’t come until he got back home.

The sheer romance of Gene’s idea was so appealing that I gave him a blank sheet of paper and asked him to write Tracy’s name the way he would have wanted it in the dust on the Moon. Then I got to work with my paint brushes. As Gene’s friend, I have employed artistic license to save him the long trip back to Station Six, not to mention the monumental savings to all us taxpayers.