Plein Air paintings in Santa Fe

The Plein Air Painters New Mexico (PAPNM) Annual Juried Show opened in Santa Fe last weekend and will be showing through May 17 at the Gary Kim Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This plein air exhibition is representative of a national membership with work entered from all over the country. Last year I won 1st Place in the members category.
If you enjoy landscape painting, especially plein air (painted on location) work. This is the show to see. The Gary Kim Gallery is open 10 am to 5 pm daily.
Check it out if you are in Santa Fe.

The painting below was my entry for this year: 'Mountain August',
a 16x12, painted in Rocky Mountain National Park. To view all the paintings entered, click on the link here: PAPNM Annual Juried Show, or on the link at the top of this post.
This painting is also featured in a quarter page ad in the June issue of Southwest Magazine.

Get on Track- Take a Class

Here we are in the merry month of May; sometimes not so merry in Colorado where spring winds can peel paint right off the house, but as the grass quietly greens up and flowers bud, painting still-life in class feels a little stale. I paint out side pretty much year around but don't expect students to take on the outdoor elements while trying to also juggle elements of design, composition, and color mixing.

Classes start this week and we will turn our focus to all things landscape, building on skills in preparation for the summer session when we actually GO outside and hopefully, put them to good use.
I consider this the LEARNING part of painting; the WISDOM part only comes with you are actually out there.
My advice to any painter wanting to go PLEIN AIR is to just do it; but if your circumstance don't allow - indulge in classes that give you a strong foundation of composition and landscape elements that will help you be more successful when you do go out.
And it is always more fun with other painters.
Take advantage of the time and when the weather turns fine you'll go out with more confidence.

The above plein air piece is a demo- late spring- done in the indirect method.
To read about the Indirect Method go to LABELS on the right and scroll down to Class Notes: Direct and Indirect method.