Special Thanks to San Luis Valley Health

I have to give a huge "THANKS"  to the San Luis Valley Health Foundation for supporting ART in our valley, for recognizing it's importance to the health and well being of our entire community,  and for backing up that philosophy with the purchase of REAL art from local artists.
This past spring the Conejos County hospital did a much needed upgrade to the hospital entrance and the emergency wing, shown above in the last stages of completion.
Part of the renovation involved the purchase of ART for the lobby, front desk and hallway areas.  Above, you can see my piece "Last Lights"- 48x 24, leaning against the fireplace wall. Works by David Montgomery and Charles Ewing were also purchased for the Conejos County Hospital space.
Kelly Gurule, long time head of the San Luis Valley Health Foundation has championed artists in the valley by encouraging the symbiotic relationship between ART, HEALTH, and the local artist community.
This is not just a nice idea but a philosophy that the Foundation has backed with serious $$.
I know from travel to other areas of the country, and into Canada that large corporate health care facilites  seldon spend "a nickle" to support anything like local or REAL art but expect artists to DONATE work; under the guise of getting "exposure".
This practice devalues both patients and artists.
Nuff said- I will get off the soap box.
Thanks, again to the SLV Foundation for the purchase of "Last Lights".
The Conejos County Grand Opening and ribbon cutting will be on Saturday, June 22.  The community is invited.

We Live for Summer

There is a light breeze, clouds pile up in a huge sky,
snow tops  Mt Blanca to the east and San Juans to the west,
these are the days we live for.
Plein air painters go out even in the snow and rain, but a summer morning spent enjoying the out doors reminds us why live in Colorado.
The piece above is my 6"x 8" done last week from the Recreation Center in Alamosa.

This first week of the Plein air Painting classes brought ten painters out into the landscape.
The laundry, the dishes the yard work will always be with us , but these summer days are very fleeting.
Give your self the gift of a few mornings to enjoy them.
If you are an artist and want to join the class, or if you are visiting the valley for the summer, or even if you are just passing through and would like to join a group and get some instruction - contact me through my website at ConiGrant.com.
I can let you know when and where we will be meeting.
OR if you check on the right hand side of this article the painting location should be posted each week.
Drop-in fee is $15, paid at the location with cash or check made out to the City of Alamosa.

SAVE the DATE:

Carl Judson, the GuerrillaPainter, will be visiting our class on Tuesday Evening, June 25th at 6:30 pm at the Alamosa Family Recreation Center.
Carl is a long time painter and front man for Guerrilla Painter,  world wide supplier of all things "plein air".
His presentations on outdoor painting are always entertaining and insightful. You won't want to miss it.
Invite your friends;  NO drop-in fee for this class.   Join us.
Check out more about Carl, his company and his travels at
GuerrillaPainter.com