New Website!

I am excited, and relieved to announce the publishing of a new Website for ConiGrant.com. A clean new look, and new work. This last year, after some arm twisting, my tech friend convinced me to develop, publish and handle my website - by myself.
The new site covers similar information but in a new format and hopefully, easy and quick to negotiate. I hope you will take a look at ConiGrant.com, and if you have comments- let me know what you think.

Paint Out and Plein air Show In Taos

Last week the Plein Air Painters of Colorado met for their annual Spring paint out in Taos. This event kicks off the non-snowy part of the plein air season. David Montgomery, Susan McCullough and I met up with Peg Immel and some of the best plein air painters from Colorado, New Mexico and beyond.  It is a time to stretch a few color muscles and paint with friends from all over. Taos is blooming like crazy, and wonderful in the Spring- if you don't have allergies.

We always have a good time but it is also serious business otherwise we would not be out at dawn and still at it long after sunset. By the end of the week everyone is a little crispy at the edges.

Sunburned and as wound up as we were tired, we capped off the week by attending the opening of the 16th Annual Colorado Plein Air Painters Exhibition on Saturday night at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art in Taos. Usually held in Denver it is one of the biggest events of my year and I was excited to have 3 pieces juried in.
That show will hang at Wilder Nightingale on Kit Carson Rd., until May 24th and very worth seeing if you can go in person. The show is viewable online as well; click this link 16th Annual PAAC Show.

Looking For Myself

Trees and flowers are blooming everywhere and while Taos can be magical, blooming trees, lilacs, and field poppies challenge my skills in the Spring.
Growing up in California, I associated Spring with the beach, and maybe a replacement pair of shorts for ones worn all winter. In CA where things bloom year around,  I took flowers very much for granted; not anymore, but I don't paint them if a broader view is available. This year, instead of avoiding what was everywhere I chose to paint a few blossoms.
At the top is a piece done here in Alamosa about a week before heading to Taos. The scene was a complex mix of 2 blooming trees, shadows and directional lighting. Obviously, I don't really strive for a realistic take on things but am looking for my own stylization of the subject matter.  The lower painting is my version of a side lit lilac bush in Taos - with a more of a realistic spin.
In general, I am looking, striving, trying to find an abstraction that will communicate the essence of the view- but in my "voice".  Every painter paints with a certain voice - some without even knowing, some intentional, some naive or untrained-  and others actively trying to "sound" just like someone else. Pleasing and personal abstractions of landscape elements can be very elusive- like notes of music traveling on a breeze.
I am always looking for a way to communicate that looks like "me" or "sounds" like me;
the "voice" I want to put out there.
These pieces will never see the light of day, but serve as exercises for that purpose; and I only see myself in one of them.
It may not be my final answer, but it's a few more notes in a tune I am always wanting to catch.

Sad Day

I had thought to write about our amazing spring here in Alamosa; blooms are everywhere - but events of the weekend have put a pall over the entire community. Saturday night, coming home from a church event in Pueblo, 3 of our San Luis Valley teens were killed when a drunk driver ran a red light at 120 miles an hour and hit their car in an intersection. It was an Alamosa high school senior who drove the car that was hit.
I usually avoid personal stuff here on the blog but in this case - I was just not able to write about anything else. Our whole Valley is mourning.
If you have kids- tell them today that you love them.

Class Notes: Susan McCullough, Guest Artist

We had a special treat this week in class; award winning, Colorado painter Susan McCullough was our guest for a painting demo.
Sue is a Colorado native, life long painter and full time professional
who has earned her cred at painting shows, events, competitions and invitationals all over the west.  Plein air work is her specialty and the plein air piece at the right was done about 2 weeks ago, above Pinus Creek west of Alamosa. For the benefit of the demo, Sue planned to repaint it as a Spring scene.
Click on any of the photos to see them larger.

The photos follow her process as she starts with a quick lay in of the large dark shapes that will later become the trees and mountain in the distance. She used a paper towel to wipe out the shapes of the foreground aspen trees with the explanation that, by wiping off - instead of drawing in, a more organic shape is created.

The scene is backlit, so shadows are positioned and under painted in a relatively dark blue. Sue quickly mixed a warm tone of medium value, for the ground plane that would serve as under painting and give color and energy to the grass greens that would eventually cover it. The warm under painting was smeared on with the ever present paper towel. Sue used a palette knife to lay color across the aspens, pointing out that aspens, being very reflective in nature, will pick up color from everywhere in the landscape. They are also warmer at the bottom and become cooler as they rise up toward the sky.

 

Note in the close-up, the brush size being used.

I paint with Sue all the time but never get the chance to just watch a piece develop and hear a step-by-step explanation of the concepts and techniques used, as they are being applied. Sue is a master of the back lit scene, turning a dark mass into a forest of bouncing light and color, all the while explaining and demonstrating her palette and the color mixes that are key to making Winter turn to Spring, (in the painting). Nothing is random from the early decisions about design and placement to the final touches of color and light added to the trees, grass and forest shapes.

Go to the POST below, where I started, to see both paintings together and click on the photo to view it larger. To get more info on Sue and see more of her click this link to go to: Susan McCullough.com

Susan McCullough, Guest Artist DEMO

I sat down to write this post yesterday afternoon, moments before my kids blew in from school and I got swept up in the drama of a track fund raiser: buying dinner supplies, a home made dessert for the auction, did we buy tickets? - it's tonight?  do you have homework?,
etc, etc.

So, I am sorry if you logged on and only got the title. I will try again.

Susan McCullough, good friend and painting buddy, 

was our guest in class for a painting DEMO. Above are 

two paintings; the bottom piece done just a couple of weeks back, 

up on Pinus Creek and the top piece, Sue's demo where she took 

the plein air painting and turned it from a winter to a spring piece. Nice Job! Sue is a long time professional painter and her FARMHOUSE Studio is here in the San Luis Valley, outside of Monte Vista. To get more info on Sue and see more of her work go to: Susan McCullough.com

ps. I could kick myself for not getting back to this post at 12:30 last night. 

Somewhere out in the ethernet, between the time when I fell into bed and when and got up this morning, a whole new BLOGSPOT game plan took over my blog  and until I can relearn how to post and edit here - I am in a spot of a bother. Thanks for your patience. I will certainly need some myself.

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.

Honorable Mention in Texas for Happy Trails

This is the first year I entered the Midland Arts Association 2012 Juried Art Exhibition, in Midland, Texas, and I was very happy to be notified this week, that my 16"x 20" entry "Happy Trails" won an Honorable Mention at the opening on March 29. Whoo- Hoo!
and
a HUGE Congratulations to my friend, photographer Steve Immel who won a First Place Prize and an Honorable Mention. Click the link on his name and check out his website.
Special THANKS to Peggy Immel, friend and fellow painter who suggested I enter the show in the first place. Thanks Peg.

Congratulations SLV Painters

Congratulations to the San Luis Valley Painters on a very successful show.
We closed the SMall Works Show at Milagros last Friday after a very happy "hometown" run. We sold 15 paintings and tho' it was a small percentage, were able to donate over $200. to the Milagros fund for our community.
Thank You to everyone who took part.

Looking for Snow

Last week Sue, Dave and myself went looking for snow and found it up the Pinus Creek Road in the San Juans, above Del Norte, Colorado.
As Spring comes on, the winds kick up in Colorado but we managed to catch a morning that was very mild and almost calm. There was a lot of "atmosphere" though, because of fires that burned in other parts of the state; downright smokey day actually. Some painters go for that atmospheric/air look -
being originally from California, I'm not so keen on it.