Plein Air Summer

 

Plein Air Classes in Alamosa started on July 1st at the Alamosa Recreation Center.  We enjoyed a perfectly beautiful day and stretched a few muscles that have been neglected a bit over the last months in the studio.

Next week, on July 8th we will be painting at Margaret Jones' near the corner of Country Rd. 6 South and Hwy 17 behind Splashland. From town, take State St. north out of town to the T intersection and turn right/east,  then turn into the property when you see the "Jones" sign. If you get to Hwy 17, you have gone too far.

Bring your toys and join us in the landscape.  The drop-in fee is $15 per class meeting. Pay at the Rec Center first and meet the class at 9 am at the sight.

Sunset Season

This has been a summer for crazy/incredible sunsets;
way too big and always too glorious to paint but just watching them unfold over the course of an evening is one major perk of plein air painting and one of the best ways to soak up our precious Colorado summer.  I confess, on the evening shown above, we painted in an on-off rain for quite a while but were also treated to a complete double rainbow opposite the sunset that was certainly the brightest I have ever seen. What a show.

There is still 2 months of plein air painting ahead.
If you are a painter, but never painted in the landscape . . . . .
or a beginner wanting to learn something new - come paint in and around Alamosa.


Join us on Tuesday Evenings, 6:30pm to 9pm
or Thursday Mornings, 9am to noon - or both.
Register at the Alamosa Family Recreation Center -719-589- 2105
or register at the first class meeting.
New Class session starts this week:
Tuesday Evening - August 6th  -  6:30-9pm.
Thursday Morning-  August 8th - 9am- noon
The first meeting of each class will be at the Alamosa Family Recreation Center. We will do a little landscape practice and I will pass out class schedules- so that everyone will know WHERE to go each week.
Painting locations will also be posted on this BLOG - over to the right.

2 ways to attend: pay for the entire session at the first meeting, or pay as you go.
If you register and pay for the entire session, for either Tuesday or Thursday's class - you can attend both the Tuesday and Thursday classes for no extra charge.
Otherwise it is $15 a class:  pay me on site with cash or make cks out to City of Alamosa.
Here in Colorado our summer is so fleeting. Enjoy the beauty, the majesty, the pleasure of it - just a bit more - by actually being out in it.
Hope to see you in the landscape.

A Little Bit of Alamosa - ARTWALK

Alamosa ArtWalk is this Saturday, April 14, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m, and though we would never dare to predict the weather - I can predict a good day to visit Downtown Alamosa - to shop and take in the art scene. The work of local artists will be on display at downtown locations in celebration of the San Luis Valley's vibrant arts
community, of which I am very
proud to be a part.

My work is being showcased in the San Luis Valley Brewery during Artwalk and on Saturday I plan to be out on the street by 9 to do a plein air demo.
In the event of snow I will be warming a chair with a double shot in Milagros Coffee House.





If you are looking for a good reason to visit our corner of Colorado, this is it. On Saturday morning ArtWalk schedules and maps will be available at Milagros Coffee House, Treasure Alley, Cranes and Crows, Wild Roses and Firedworks Gallery. Get your ArtWalk schedule stamped from at least 10 participating merchants and turn it in for a chance to win prizes in the drawing held at the SLV Brewery at 5:30pm.




There will be live music in the afternoon at the SLV Brewery and Saturday’s ArtWalk events will wrap up with the drawing at 5:30 p.m. for a $200 gift certificate- good towards a piece of art of the winner’s choice, as well as other prizes.

The paintings shown here, all scenes of Alamosa, were either done en plein air at past ArtWalks or done specifically for past ArtWalks.

Season Ender

New classes will start this week in the studio and my Plein air classes are over for the season. It is always a little sad but that is tempered by gray trees and mornings that are below freezing.
This 6"x 8" was done out on the river here in Alamosa.
Pre-Christmas seems to be a good time for small pieces: they go quickly in galleries and are very useful for Christmas fundraisers and miniature shows.

Plein Air Around Town

My painting classes have gone strictly plein air for the Summer, in and around Alamosa; on the river, the wetlands - neighborhood gardens. The mornings have been lovely and the evenings alive with stunning sunsets.

At the top is my painting from
last Thursday morning at the
wetland north of Alamosa.
I have been using 6"x 8"
panels in class, so that
I can concentrate on
students and still
get a painting done.
Small paintings aren't
my favorite thing so
I consider it
a discipline and my focus
is on keeping it simple:
simple scene,
simple shapes,
simple brushwork
- No noodlin'.

ARTwalk Saturday

ARTwalk Saturday in Alamosa dawned sunny and NO WIND, a mercy for sure.
Sue McCullough and I were out on the street early painting in downtown Alamosa where I found a sunny spot with a view down the alley behind the Brewery. That is my piece at the top of this post. Click on Sue's name to see her painting of the Courthouse. Credit to all the folks who were on the street early and came by to say "Hi'.
We finished up around 11, took in some lunch at the pub and headed out to visit other artists stationed in studios and stores. David Montgomery's studio is right downtown so we visited him first, then spent some time yakking it up with Dave Roepke who had work in Edward Jones Investments. Last year Dave's work was featured as the promotion art for all the ARTwalk advertising.
Musicians Allison Kitchen and Don Richmond livened up things in the Brew Pub and I finished up the day with friends, artist Regis Scott and photographer Brian Perkins.

Crossroads of the World

The painting above was done especially for the Alamosa ARTwalk which is THIS Saturday, April 16, in downtown Alamosa, Colorado.
It is a good excuse to visit beautiful San Luis Valley and enjoy Alamosa's 2011 celebration of art, music and spoken word at 20 downtown locations, all within walking distance of Main Street.
There will be painting demos, and displays of photography, pottery, fiber arts, sculpture, and stained glass with artists on hand, 10 am - 5 pm. Programs and maps are available in downtown Alamosa stores and restaurants.
Get your program stamped at 12 or more event locations to enter the prize drawing at 5 pm at the San Luis Valley Brewing Company, 631 Main.
My work, including the painting at the top of this post "Crossroads of the World", will be on display at the San Luis Valley Brewing Company.

Fall, it's Magic, it's Fickle it's Heartbreakingly Short

In Colorado, Autumn is the consolation at the end of Summer but if you blink it can blow by in a flash. I struggle with low level anxiety about this time of year; partly a fear of impending snow that can wipe Autumn color right off the map, or colors that peak too early or just a general fear of missing it all.
In the San Luis Valley we are experiencing a September heat wave of sorts but night temps have dropped to freezing. I have one hollyhock in my yard, a late bloomer that never does anything until everything else in the garden is spent. This year it had no sooner popped out its one and only bloom than a freeze toasted the whole plant. This is so perverse.
We can see the changing aspens up in the San Juan Mountains very clearly from my house; they call, they tempt - warning us that time is short. I could almost reach out and touch them.....
Last week Sue McCullough and I drove north of the San Luis Valley to paint on Marshall Pass only to have a full day of rain. This is also perverse.
We did catch Josh Been with a workshop group out near the pass. Hardy souls.
Our consolation was the chance to take a lot of photos but I would trade in one good day of painting for a boat load of rainy day color.



This week we planned a full day up in the Conejos of Southern Colorado but sickness and scheduling conflicts interfered. It was my birthday and as well the power in my neighbor hood was out from 11 AM until well past midnight. I would have happily sat all night in the dark had I spent a day in the aspens. There was no joy in birthday-ville.
Fortunately, my painting class has been meeting here in the valley, marking the changing of the seasons. Last Tuesday night we met north of town at the old Dairy and enjoyed a full moon. Here Dave Roepke captures the very last rays of light.
I didn't paint the moon but focused on a small group of cows grazing in a nearby field. These could be the first cows I have ever painted.

Below are 2 plein air pieces done from the same spot on the Rio Grande River near downtown Alamosa. The top piece is 9x12, painted around August 18th. The lower piece is 10x20, painted last week as the cottonwoods begin to turn golden.

Class Notes: Paint Out In GREEN

Class painters headed out of the studio and into the landscape on Thursday to paint the trees and wetland right out my back door. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day, it was an exercise in "GREENS" from blue-green all the way around the color wheel to silver green. Separating greens in the landscape is one of the toughest challenges in color mixing.
For a really good example of greens in the landscape click on this link to see how Sue McCullough did it when we painted together with Dave Montgomery, last week up in the Zapata, at the base of the Sangre de Christos.

3 Painters, 3 Friends, 3 Points of View

The San Luis Valley Brewing Company in
Alamosa, Colorado Presents
paintings by Coni Grant,
Susan McCullough, and David Montgomery
through May 30.



David Montgomery.
Lifelong painter, conservationist and interpreter of the landscape, David creates work that highlights the glory of nature and is a celebration of the harmony found in that natural world.




Susan McCullough.
With a passion to see and reveal
the landscape en plein air (out doors),
Susan paints the West with the
eye of understanding that
only comes from a lifetime of
focused observation and inspiration.



Coni Grant.
Primarily a plein air (outdoor) painter, Coni uses her design background, together with innovative color ideas to express a view of the landscape that is distinctive and contemporary.







David, Susan and Coni all maintain studios in the
San Luis Valley that are
open to the public.
Their work can also be
viewed on line at:
www.DavidMontgomerypaintings.com
www.SusanMccullough.com
www.ConiGrant.com
_________

So much for the Press release.
We got together on Monday to hang this show at the San Luis Valley Brewery and rewarded ourselves with an early tea-time. I recommend the Alamosa Amber but this pub also makes one of the best Rootbeers - ever. So if you are anywhere in the neighborhood - that would be within 200 miles - take in the show, 3 Painters, 3 Friends, 3 Points of View, and enjoy lunch or dinner at the San Luis Valley Brewing Company. The brew master is a woman - that's why the beer is so good.

ArtWalk Saturday

ArtWalk Saturday dawned sunny - good news because snow had been predicted.
Sue McCullough and I were out on Main Street about 9am and took advantage of a southern exposure on the side of the SLV Brewery. It was not as warm as last year but warm enough. We both painted looking west up the street to Alamosa's historic Rialto Theatre building; now home to the Rialto Bistro.
Thanks to everyone who volunteered, promoted, planned and participated in Alamosa's ArtWalk and to the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center for hosting a beautiful reception on Friday night.

Alamosa ArtWalk

Alamosa Artwalk is tomorrow, Saturday, from 10- 5pm in downtown Alamosa. This photo was taken from my painting spot last year.
The weekend kicked off with a gala reception at the SLV Medical Center this evening in their beautiful Artrium. The Medical Center Artrium is an art destination all on its own and is currently showing the Great Sand Dunes Exhibit, that hung last year in Denver International Airport. Featuring artists from the Valley, myself included, and other parts of Colorado, this juried show got so much acclaim at DIA that our Medical Center contracted to hang it here. Click this link to Sue McCullough's BLog to see more reception photos.
This all made a great backdrop for the reception; and as the sun set in the west it began to snow.
But - one worry at a time. I still have high hopes for tomorrow. Sue MCCullough and I will be plein air painting in Downtown Alamosa, on the sunny side (north) of the street just about where San Juan St. crosses Main.
Click on this link for Alamosa ArtWalk to see photos, events, times and the poster painting by, good friend and Alamosa painter, Dave Roepke.