Taste of Creede- Memorial Day Fun

Sunday in Creede was made for Artists and Spectators. A (no snow) beautiful day and crowds gathered before noon to watch preparations for the 1 o'clock Quick Draw where artists create a painting in 1 hour.
There is always a lot of good energy and high spirits as artists work and spectators wander in and around the action to hone in on pieces that they will want to bid on at the auction immediately following.
I was able to finish a painting in the morning before the quick draw and a second during the Quick Draw - BOTH sold to the same buyer. Thanks so much to these great folks who came to the Taste of Creede, all the way from Lawrence, Kansas.

Creede is such a fun, beautiful and quirky town, - one of Colorado's best.  Artists who come to this Quick Draw do it for the sheer fun of camaraderie,  and in support of the town that supports ARTS all year around.
Creede is also home to the Quiller Gallery that features the work of Stephen Quiller, the Creede Repertory Theatre, and the National Small Prints Show.
Stephen Quiller, David Montgomery, Peggy Morgan Stenmark, Charles Ewing, Tracy Miller, Kris Gosar,  Morris Sowards, Sharon McCoy, Jesse Crock, Gail Fraiser, and Jan Thompson and myself, were just a few of the artists who painted on Sunday.

Creede Quick Draw on Sunday at 1pm

It is Memorial Day weekend and if you are looking for a day out  - look no further than Creede, Colorado, a town known for throwing a great party- no matter what the holiday.
Located in the beautiful San Juan Mountains, Creede is a destination town and the site of one of Colorado’s most famous high-country mines. They love tourists and artists in Creede, support several galleries, have the Creede Repertory Theatre and also host the National Small Print Show that opens there this weekend.

I will be in Creede on Sunday for the Artists Quick Draw on Main Street at 1pm.
The Quick Draw Event draws artists from all over Colorado and several surrounding states, and also attracts collectors who come for a chance to bid on paintings done by top artists.  Some of the artists participating : Stephen Quiller, Kris Gosar, David Montgomery, Jesse Crock, Charlie Ewing, Jan Thompson, Peggy Morgan Stenmark Morgan, Tracy Miller, and myself - to name a few.
We will have one hour to create a painting and then there will be a live auction immediately following.

Saturday, May 27th  at 2pm is the Silver Chef Competition and at 4pm the National Small Print Show opens in the lobby of the Creede Repertory Theatre.
Sunday, May 28th - the Artists Quick Draw on Main Street starts at 1pm- in front of the Quiller Gallery. A live auction will follow.
Come for the weekend or come for the day, but don’t miss the Quick Draw at 1pm on Sunday.

It is the First Day of Fall

A fresh breeze blows around my house,  like sighs at the passing of summer.  It is a little sad but on this first day of Autumn I want to celebrate - not that summer is gone but that a pretty good consolation is still ahead.
David Montgomery, Susan McCullough and myself went up into the high country around Creede this last week - witnesses to the rush of the new season. We enjoyed painting 3 days in beautiful weather and fabulous views. Don't miss it if you have a chance; this next week will see the peak of color around the San Juans.

Taste of Creede Memorial Day Sunday

In Colorado we live for the summer,  and it all starts this weekend with
Taste of Creede.

Historic and iconic - Creede is one of Colorado's most colorful high country destinations and the Taste of Creede  on Memorial Day weekend features Silver Chef Competition, live music, vendors, and the  National Small Print Show opening and reception at Creede Repertory Theatre on Saturday at 4pm.  All well worth the beautiful drive into the mountains.

On Sunday,   Stephen Quiller (internationally known artist and writer) hosts the main attraction - Artist's Quick Draw- Sunday at 1 pm where top artists from several states gather to paint fast and furious - for 1 hour.  Sharing the space with models and on lookers, there is always a lot of jostling, elbow throwing and general good fun - for artists, as well as viewers.
The auction immediately following,  gives viewers the chance to bid on work done by top artists.

Have a great holiday - hope to see you in the mountains.

Taste of Creede Quick Draw

Memorial Day Sunday can only mean "The Taste of Creede"  that kicks off the summer season in one of Colorado's most colorful and classic high country mining towns. Tucked away in the San Juan Mountains, Creede loves tourists and artists.
Known for holiday partying, Creede also hosts the National Small Prints Show currently hanging at the Creede Repertory Theatre, but "Taste of Creede" is the big Memorial weekend party dedicated to Food, Culinary Arts, and Fine Art.  Sunday's 1 hour Artist's Quick Draw attracts some of the best artists from several states including Stephen Quiller,  and buyers come from all over the country.  This is my 4th year attending and it is one of the most fun events I do all year. Artists gather on Main Street in front of the Stephen Quiller gallery  and paint from models, sketches, memory or the view. This year a "mountain man" with burro and trusty dog companion came out of the canyon in the morning and stood as a model in the afternoon.  We reimbursed him for gas - I guess that went to the burro.

Some of the artists attending:
Steve Quiller, Kris Gosar, David Montgomery,  Frank Francese, Peggy Stenmark Morgan, Charles Ewing, Jan Thompson, Frankie Will, Gail Frasier, Sam Keith, Tracy Miller,  and myself - to name a few.
This year, Tracy Miller was my partner in crime, shown here with her 1 hour Raven. Tracy is known for her wild and wonderful acrylic animals paintings. She runs the TracyMiller Gallery in Manitou and represents my work there. 
We had a great time and our buyers did pretty well too.

To the right is my 1 hour painting - the view up the street and into the dramatic Willow Creek canyon that Creede is so famous for.
It is only an 10"x 8" which is my standard quick draw size, but the elements were challenging. This summer I am going to try to do more street views.

Thank You to Stephen & Marta Quiller and the Creede Chamber of Commerce for putting together a great event.

Good Times in Creede, CO

Memorial Day Weekend in Creede was not only great fun but also smiled down with fabulous weather over a holiday notorious for cold, rain and
even snow.
Here are Cindy Cutts, Charlie Ewing, Steve Quiller, myself,
Sue McCullough and Rita Roberts, posing for the camera before the Sunday Quick Draw.
Beautiful weather in the High Country brought art lover-tourists to shop, eat, bid in the auction, and buy art in Creede.
The Quick Draw lasts an hour and is a little unconventional in that the artists do not paint from a "view" per se but from some form of reference material - usually a sketch, and everyone paints together under one tent so viewers can easily walk around and see them work; close proximity allows painters to converse, distract each other or, on occasion- throw a few elbows.
It was great fun and after the works were quickly framed and put on display the auction got rolling.
The bottom shot shows Steve Quiller introducing my painting -
a 10"x 8" piece done from a sketch I did at O'Haver Lake last Fall during the Colorado Mountain Plein Air Fest. I am happy to say that it sold to a couple from Littleton. They were happy too.

We Had Weather in Creede

I arrived in Creede about 10 am on Saturday morning and artists were already in the streets painting, both plein air (from the view) or from sketches. In the top photo Charlie Ewing (in the blue shirt) looks to the valley where rain is quickly moving toward us. Here in Colorado approaching weather is never an "if" only a when so I took the opportunity to pull my easel out of the street onto the sidewalk and under the ONLY overhang on the block. The hardy water media artists toughed it out even as the rain poured down. I was grateful for the few feet of cover that I shared with a "Pizza by the slice" guy who really drummed up the traffic.
Artists shown here are, from the top: Charlie Ewing, Steven Quiller, Randy Pijoan, Bobby Manning and Peggy Morgan Stenmark.
In spite of rainy weather, Taste of Creede, which also included the Silver Chef cooking competition, attracted a large crowd. That evening several of us gathered at the home of Steve and Marta Quiller for a relaxed pizza dinner, great conversation and a personal tour of their art collection.
This was the highlight, and what I will remember long after the painting sales and the weather have been forgotten.