Plein Air in Westcliffe, Oct 4 - 6

Two weeks ago, I was in Westcliffe, Colorado at the Sangres Art Guild 6th Annual Plein air Paint Out.
A chilly, but beautiful few days; fortunately the snow forecast for Saturday never materialized. Sue McCullough and I joined about 23 other plein air painters trying to capture the last of the Fall color in Colorado.  As you can see by the photo above there was still a lot to be had. Below, Sue creates the painting that won her a merchandise award at the opening.

 

Below: "Passing Autumn"- 10 x 8, and "Indian Summer"- 9 x 12  are the 2 pieces that I entered into the show that opened on Saturday afternoon at the 3rd Street Gallery in Westcliffe. Click on any of the photos to view them larger.

 

The Sangres Art Guild put on the event and though weekend weather was variable for sure, they did a great job of keeping the artists supplied with coffee and encouragement - not too much pressure, and finished with a beautifully hung show and great food for the opening.  

My piece, "Indian Summer" was awarded 3rd Place- which came with a few dollars- yippee!

Stephen Datz, award winning painter from Grand Junction, CO was the judge, and a painter I greatly admire. It was an honor to receive an award from him. 

The Plein Air Show will hang at the 3rd Street Gallery in Westcliffe until November 4th.

ART - Raising Awareness for the Endangered Landscape

The Art for the Endangered Landscape paint out, back on September 29th, was an event meant to focus attention on an area outside of Del Norte where a wildcat oil well exploration site is proposed that is within a residential site surrounded by public land. The hope was of raising public awareness to the kind devastation perpetrated on Colorado land and its residents by hydraulic fracking in this area; not to mention the misuse of precious water resources in a time of drought . If you do not know what the term "fracking" means- click the link to read about it on Wikipedia.

Sponsored by San Luis Valley Eco System Council and Community Partnerships of Adams State University, the event was successful in bringing this issue forward and getting locals in neighboring areas interested in what is happening on the lands we assume are protected. This is a hot topic in Colorado, involving water use, water rights and destruction in our own back yard. To read more about this issue, click this link. The San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council is a non-profit advocacy organization for Colorado public lands.

The Paint Out morning was quite beautiful, Sue McCullough, David Montgomery and myself, took part to document the area en plein air and enjoyed the general party atmosphere with other artists, music, food and neighbors coming together for a common cause.

As a continuing part of this effort there will be a show, Friday, November 30 at the Community Partnerships Gallery in Alamosa  to highlight work created at the September 29th event.
My piece above "San Francisco Creek", created en plein air on September 29th will be part of the work I will have in that show and profits will go to benefit the San Luis Valley Eco System Council.