The Llano Uplift is a vast geological formation in Central Texas with an exceptionally positive-sounding name. It’s a big dome of ancient rock, nearly 100 miles across, that popped out of the dry terrain like a giant soap bubble millions of years ago as the regions tectonic plates shifted about. If you ever walked around on Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg, you were standing on the Llano uplift. The uplift brought to the surface a variety of stones formed deep underground, including rocks you don’t find in other parts of Texas: rosy hued granite, precious stones like purple amethysts and wine-colored garnets, and a pressure-cooked pink limestone called gneiss, pronounced “nice.” Another positive name.
The gneiss is especially nice at Inks Lake State Park in Llano County. There you will find it broken up into crumbly boulders big and small. When the sun hits it, the rocks reflect a warm pink light that sparkles with milky veins of quartz. There are pale, blue-green stands
of prickly pear cactus and yuccas growing everywhere. Hill country cedars and dusty, olive-colored oaks thrive in spots where they can work their roots into the crevices. Rosy pinks and sage greens are complimentary colors, a magic combination that artists and designers can tell you all about. With all this, Inks Lake is a fantastic place to paint outdoors.
I found a shady spot at the base of a hill there in the morning shadows of a cedar tree. The crest of the hill was bare rock, where erosion had split the gneiss into boulders that tumbled down the low slope. Standing at the base, the impression 
was of movement, as if the boulders would roll down and chase me away with the slightest wind. But I’m sure the rocks had sat there on the hill in the same exact spot since before time began. The bright, rising sun cast deep, cooler shadows behind the larger rocks, and illuminated their east-facing sides. Stubborn lichen grew on the surface of the pink rocks, in two shades: pale green and orange. Directly behind me, the water of the lake lapped quietly at the shore and a trio of Canadian geese made a racket with their honking. It was about as scenic a spot as I have painted until I lost the shade and the wind kicked up.
I laid out two shades of red on my pallet, two shades of blue, two of green, one bright yellow and white. In my hand I had two flat brushes, a big one and a one smaller, with a little can of turpentine and a dab of Liquin. I moved the colors around on the canvas board for an 
hour and a half, but never got the color of the cloudless morning sky just right. The pinks and greens came out pretty true.
Even if you don’t paint, go see Inks Lake and the area that lies around the uplift. There are caverns and cactus and cows and some world-class barbecue to be found there.
