My interest in the Badlands began in the early 1980s. I saw (and acquired) a print by the artist Greg Mortensen. It was a scene from the Badlands and I think this picture may be close to the spot where he conceived the idea. Mortense is a reduction woodcut artist.  Here is an explanation from the Davidson Galleries website:

The reduction woodcut process uses the same block of wood over and over, unlike the traditional woodcut method that employs separate blocks for each color. The artist cuts and prints the woodblock in stages, printing a different color on the same sheet of paper after each cutting. As successive areas of the block are cut away (reduced, hence reduction woodcut), inked and printed, the image builds in subtlety and complexity. Dijkstra and Mortensen both make effective use of the process to express their respective landscapes.

The print I acquired was the first of three Mortensens I would eventually own and it is my favorite.  It means even more to me now that I have seen the source of his inspiration.  ❧