The High Road '11

Saturday we went south out of Taos along the high road. It was an all-church day and we started at Ojo Sarco with beautiful views of the snow capped mountains. We found spots to paint that looked down on the church from across the road but this horse, though behind a flimsy fence was not too happy with our presence. He would run up and down the field occasionally leaning over to whinny at us. At one point the horse actually got his 2 front legs over the pipe gate almost knocking it over. I found it very hard to concentrate on my painting and Sue finally gave that horse a very stern warning. He listened and stopped bothering us. He went over to bother Peg.
Anxious to finish up before he escaped, we headed to Penasco to the Sugar Nymphs Cafe for some caffeinated inspiration, and a bathroom. It was good on both counts and we followed the road to LLano San Juan.
Sue and I have traveled these roads before but having Peg as navigator and 'cruise director' made all the difference.
In the afternoon we painted the church at Llano San Juan; very picturesque and with safe places to park and stand with easels.
After finishing there we turned north toward Taos and drove by the Placitas church but could not stop to do more than take photos.
Next time. . . . . .



It was a great day and in the evening we joined the PAAC group at the San Geronimo for food and painting stories.
Saturday night we drove back up to Colorado.
I am still sifting through my work, but paintings aside, I think this was our best Taos paint out yet.

SUM of the Parts - but not ALL

You are familiar with the saying " the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".
Not this time....
Last year I did this 30"x 22" painting of the Great Sand Dunes to replace another oversize piece that sold from the Dunes Show up at Denver International Airport. The first one was fresh and little wacky, but colorful and I thought I could improve on it. Instead, I painted a snoozer - that's artspeak for - boring -.
It has been hanging in my studio for a few months and I could hardly stand to look at it -
so, with nothing to loose, I started cutting it up.
I don't do this often, because it so seldom works compositionaly; your signature ends up right in the middle or some other dumb thing.
Sometimes tho', trimming or resizing a piece can change the focus or bring different elements to life.
In this case - there were areas that I liked but the whole piece was weighed down by a huge chunk of drab middle ground.
I cut the vertical piece, to the right, first to a 2 x 1 format. This is one of my favorites formats and I like verticals. The new piece is 20"x 10". This makes the trees more important, still showed the dunes, and accentuated the distance.
In the smaller 10"x 8", the dunes become the focus, playing up the diagonal shapes.

ART Supplies at Sell Out Prices - in South Fork

If you live anywhere within 50 miles of the San Luis Valley, South Fork, or Wolf Creek Pass - this could apply to YOU. The Art Emporium in South Fork has closed but there are still great deals on art supplies until the end of May.
If you are interested in picking up Canvas, brushes, paint and frames, in all sizes - and are willing to drive to South Fork, Colorado to get them at absolute rock bottom prices: call Jan Bock, at 719 - 849-9996.
Jan lives on Sioux Trail, off of Hwy 160. It is past Del Norte, but before you get to South Fork. Call first so Jan can meet you; she is very anxious to get rid of as much inventory as possible.

Paint Out Wednesday

Sue McCullough, David Montgomery and myself are the official Southern Colorado arm of the PAAC (Plein Air Artists of Colorado). We even have a painting schedule on the site - click the PAAC link to find out where we will be on any given Wednesday.
So yesterday we had planned a visit to the Old Dairy north of Alamosa. Great views in every direction and it looked like the wind would not be a problem. I checked the thermometer before leaving the house and thought : "40 degrees, Yay! Spring is really here."
Spoken a little too soon.
If you look in the photo here, right above the tree line you can see the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the snow on the dunes is very clear. Brrrrr. Snow on the dunes is rarely seen in the dead of winter let alone April; I knew we were in for it. The slight breeze blowing down the valley from the north was bone chilling..
In the Winter we stand in snow and paint in serious cold, but once Spring baits us with a couple of warm days - there is no going back. Of course, we were suckered into thinking it would be nice so didn't go out with all the cold weather gear. This is the Spring dilemma - you have to prepare for freezing weather and hope to get hot while you paint.

Last week we painted on a ranch by the Rio Grande, looking east toward Mount Blanca on an overcast morning. This is not a colorful time of year but we found a bit of green near the river
- and I mean a bit.

Class Notes: David Montgomery's Class Demo FINISHED

A few weeks back David Montgomery did a painting demo for my class. As he painted, he explained his process and technique, color mixing and painting philosophy. The time was entertaining and informative, and though saw we much of the process - as shown below - we never saw the piece actually completed.
Here it is - the finished
and framed 8" x 10",
and of course, for sale; a perfect Mother's Day gift.

SQUARE Show Sales

The SLV Painting Group Square show is coming down this week. Congratulations to everyone who participated and "Hoorah" for all the sales. I received more comments about this show than anything I have yet seen hung in Milagros, so we were favorably received and sales proved that.
Thanks everyone.

Shown here are the paintings that I sold and all are were painted as class demos.

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.

SQUARE Show Sale

"Ladies in Painting"- my 7"x 7" homage to PAPNM (Plein Air Painters of New Mexico) was part of the SQUARE Show, currently hanging at the Milagros Coffee House Gallery in Alamosa. This piece sold last week, which I am happy about, but the good folks at Milagros could not tell WHO bought it. If by chance, it was purchased by a blog reader,
I would so like to know who you are.
Thanks so much.
The Square Show is a representation of work from the SLV Painting group and so far we have sold almost 10 pieces, possibly more since the ARTwalk. I am very happy to have sold 2 myself.

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.

It's Spring - Take Cover and Hold on to Your Earflaps

Winter cold will seldom keeps us from painting out - but Spring wind will. We do all kinds of things to foil the weather, as if it were possible to sneak out under the cover of night and get a painting done before the wind finds us ; but we still try. In the last 3 weeks finding a morning when the wind wasn't already blowing the paint off of your house at dawn was rare. Over Spring Break, Dave Montgomery and I headed up the western slope of Mt. Blanca and took cover in the pinion for a view west over the San Luis Valley, as clouds blew in overhead.

A week later, we lucked out on a perfect day with no wind; Sue McCullough, Dave Montgomery and I drove in to the very mountains we had been viewing from Blanca, the week before.
Looking for snow and running water, and a good place to park, kept us heading up Alamosa River Canyon and happily, we found it all on an extremely beautiful day.

These plein air trips, with Sue, David and myself painting together in the same locations, are the basis of our 3 FRIENDS show that will open June 3rd at the Creede Repertory Theatre's UPSTAIRS Gallery with a reception at 5:30 pm.
On December 17 at 4 pm a reception will open the 3 FRIENDS show at Salida's Steamplant Gallery.
Lot's to paint between now and then and wind will be a major factor.