La Veta Plein Air Event

The LaVeta- Cuchara area in southern Colorado is so beautiful - being there to paint for this plein air event was pure pleasure. Above is the West Spanish Peak; there are 2 and they dominate the landscape. If you look carefully at the top photo, - behind and above the left, foreground bank of trees, up to a green valley nestled in the arms of the mountain and, not quite covered with the shadow of the great stone "vein" - that is where the lower photo was taken. Sue McCullough and I painted from that spot and below she stands by her First Prize piece of that view.











 Here, David Montgomery and Kathy Hill discuss, what else - art, while looking at Sue's painting of the 2 Fox Cabins and Dave's piece sitting above it - which- unfortunately, was not delivered in time for the 2pm competition deadline.
Curt Gillispie won 2 Place with his piece "Painter in the park", Kathy Hill stands with her 3rd Place painting of the Spanish Peak and Aaron Fanning won Honorable Mention for his triptych paintings. Click on any of the photos to view them larger.

LaVeta Workshop

I had a great time last week, teaching a 1 day workshop in LaVeta. My students were all accomplished but had not ever worked out in the landscape, en plein air. This is the best kind of student -  motivated for information with skills under their belts. I have found however, even long time painters can struggle in the landscape.
How does one see, analyze, and synthesize information- do it quickly and apply it to canvas in a way that creates a reasonable composition- and in the end a reasonable rendering of the subject?
Ah, there's the rub. . .  everyone looks at the landscape, not everyone sees it.
In the morning we talked about materials and method (I am big on method) and how to see composition in the landscape, with the help of a 2 value sketch.
A workshop teacher can yak all day about color and light in the landscape but learning how to see the landscape for what is possible - is where I like to start with students.
The view I used for demo was front lit and a little flat. In the 2 value sketch I work out the large value shapes; meaning I create the shapes from what is in the view. At this point, there is no right or wrong, just better and best. Another artist may see and work out a totally different value pattern with the same view; the point is - to see it and WORK it out- in a sketch.
By working out my thoughts early on, and making decisions about how to handle the value shapes - later when the light has changed, I will be less likely to chase it.
Of course, that is only the nutshell version of the morning . . .
Below is my demo, and probably one of my quickest, ever. It is only a 9"x 12", but once I had the sketch worked out, the painting took less that an hour.

Stepping Up Your Game, LaVeta Plein Air Event

Are you a painter, maybe a student painter, trying to gain confidence?

 I am addressing my students mostly, but if that title rings a bell for you, try stretching your skills a bit and think about entering a plein air event this summer. In Colorado there are small, non-juried events all summer in almost every part of the state. They attract local artists and sometimes a big fish will enter and raise the bar a bit, but getting your feet wet at a small event can do wonders for your confidence. These events help encourage artists, not discourage them and if you are willing to submit, and later allow the judge to critique your work -
in my opinion, that is worth the price of admission.

The LaVeta Plein Air Event is just such an event.  Hosted by the Spanish Peaks Arts Council, it is Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16 and the registration fee is very small.
Each artist has their supports (canvas, panels or whatever) marked at registration on Friday morning and then they head out into the landscape to paint. On Saturday afternoon artists frame the work that they want to enter into the show, and yes the work is framed wet.  At 2 pm all the work is turned in and hung in the gallery for judging and the weekend wraps up with an awards reception on Saturday evening - with cash awards, food, the camaraderie of fellow painters and the knowledge that you have stepped up to a new level.
Click this link to Spanish Peaks Arts Council for information and registration.

Class Notes: Compositional Motifs

The dictionary defines  Motif (noun) as "a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition".

Most artists use them as something developed within the sphere of their own work. A motif can be idiomatic, coming about as an artist's work evolves and becomes more specific to the artist; an expression of their own creative "voice".
I started thinking about this while preparing for the Creede Quick Draw. Unlike most of the plein air quick draw events that I participate in which are about an hour and a half and require the artist to paint from the view, the Creede Quick Draw is only an hour but allows artists to paint from a sketch, or recreate something that they had painted previously.  It is a good opportunity to do a painting that is memorable and distinctly "me".
This got me looking for themes in my own work and compositional ideas that I have used over and over: aspens in the woods, cotton wood trees, deep forest scenes; these are compositional ideas, or motifs that I like and return to.
For our class sessions I came up with 4 compositional motifs taken from my sketches, and we used them as a starting place for small 6"x 6" paintings. The great thing about these is that once the shapes are established, all kinds of things can be changed to create distinctly different paintings: a high or low horizon, light direction and value variation, color or season change, the addition of other elements.

With the two bottom sketches I have shown paintings that were created from them. The Aspen and Pine piece is my 10"x 8" Quick Draw painting from Creede using the Aspen sketch.  The idea of a small stand of aspens together with pine trees is something I see all the time and creates a naturally strong value sketch. The other 2 paintings are based on the Cottonwood Grove motif. One painting is vertical, one horizontal and they use very different color and levels of stylization, but both reflect the same compositional motif. Cottonwood trees grow in groups like this all over the San Luis Valley and I use them as a theme in my work with a compositional motif that is very adaptable.  I look for these compositional motifs in the landscape. It is one way I have used composition and regional elements to develop a more distinctive painting voice.

Taste of Creede Quick Draw

Sunday of Memorial Day in Creede turned out beautiful and though the whole weekend is dedicated to Food, Culinary Arts, Fine Art, and good fun, the 1 hour Quick Draw is a highlight and attracts artists and buyers from all over.  In the top photo, from left to right you can see Kris Gosar painting the model, Lana Woodruff, Charlie Ewing (also painting the model) and Stephen Quiller.
The auction drew a crowd willing to bid and happy to buy. Everyone had a great time, even the artists who would as soon donate a painting and run for cover as sit through a nail biting auction. Work sold at a good clip tho' and I don't think anyone went home disappointed. I sure didn't. The good folks from the Denver area (6 hours away) who came last year and purchased my painting, were there again this year and purchased my piece. YIPPEE!
The center photo is my 10"x8" Quick Draw piece, painted from a compositional idea of Aspen and Pines that we see everywhere here.  It is a "Motif"- or reoccurring theme in my work. More about that in the next post.

TASTE of CREEDE

Memorial Day Weekend is coming up and for me that means
"The Taste of Creede".  A kick off for the summer season in one of Colorado's most colorful and classic high country mining towns. Tucked away in the San Juan Mountains, Creede is a town that loves tourists and a holiday up there is always memorable.
The main event for me will be the Artist's Quick Draw on Sunday at 1 pm right on Main Street in downtown.
Stephen Quiller (internationally known artist and writer) hosts this party and it attracts some of the best artists from several states including Kris Gosar, David Montgomery,  Peggy Stenmark Morgan, Charles Ewing, Jan Thompson, Frankie Will, Sue McCullough and myself - to name a few. We all paint together under a tent, usually sharing the space with a couple of models. There is always a lot of jostling, elbow throwing and general good fun as artists put on a show for the crowd.
Quick Draw fun starts at 1 pm and there will be an auction immediately following. This is a chance to bid on work that you watched being done by top artists.
Creede will be the site of a lot of holiday partying - live music, vendors, Silver Chef Competition, stuff for kids and the National small Prints Show at the Creede Repertory Theatre;
all well worth the beautiful drive into the mountains.
Have a great holiday.

NEW WEBSITE

I am still struggling with this "NEW" and supposedly improved Blogger and lost a few posts here and there. OUT THERE somewhere is a post that lets you know that I have a new Website, one I am very excited to share.  That post is refusing to show up so I am adding it here.
Check out my new Website at ConiGrant.com.
A whole new look and  some new work as well. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

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.