100 Miniatures Show

These small works are so easy to purchase and easy to ship - in time for Christmas.

To view minis larger, simply click on the image.
To buy any of the pieces shown here simply contact the Tracy Miller Gallery at 719-650-0827.

More Miniatures

Friday, November 30th I will be in historic Manitou Springs at the Tracy Miller Studio Gallery on 16 Ruxton  Ave. for the Holiday Miniature Show and sale from 6 to 9 pm.  The piece above, "Stars and Snow" is one of the 20 miniatures I painted for this show.
Miniature shows pop up everywhere at the holidays and are the best places to buy work from established, as well as emerging artists, for the best prices.
12 artists are featured at this show and there will be something for everyone - all very affordable. Christmas is also a great time to be in Manitou Springs; located between Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, this fun and festive mountain town is a hotbed of galleries, unique shopping, restaurants, and family attractions- especially inviting at this time of year.
Have a great weekend.

Tis the Season. . . To Give

This Saturday night from 6-8 pm in Taos - buy the gift of ART or just shop one of the most beautiful galleries in Taos while attending a great holiday party with the focus on giving back.

The Taos Hearts & Stars Holiday Miniature Show and fundraiser brings together work of some of the best artists in New Mexico, Colorado and points beyond, with collectors and the Taos community.  Donations and a portion of all sales go to support Taos Coalition to End Homelessness, Inc., making this one holiday miniature show that doubles your gift with every purchase. I am sure that most of the shopping done at this time of year will not yield that kind of benefit. All the work is under 8"x 10", and very affordable.
Rob Wilder Nightingale at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art does a wonderful job hosting this event. Live music, fabulous food and beautiful ART make it a party worth attending if you are anywhere within 200 miles - all for a good cause.
Saturday, November 24th from 6-8 pm at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art at 119 Kit Carson in beautiful Taos. A suggested $10 donation at the door.
My piece,  'Sangre Spring' is 4"x 6" - painted en plein air in early spring, right here in the San Luis Valley.

I Am Thankful For. . . .

Our town - Alamosa.
I sketched this "impression" quickly out of my head, from only a glimpse, seen out of the corner of my eye, in the evening as I drove to class and looked back toward town and the mountains -  it seemed printed on my brain.
Mt Blanca at twilight, dwarfs the downtown intersection where the railroad meets the highway.  "Out on the Edge of Everything"- to quote singer, songwriter and friend, Alison Kitchen.
Sometimes it feels that way.
Yesterday, we joined friends, some we knew and some we didn't for Thanksgiving dinner at our community Shelter. It is our family tradition and one of the best parts of our holiday, not because we are so generous or helpful, but because we live in a community committed to caring for its own as well as the transient, lost, down hearted and hopeless. I moved here from a large city with cynical attitudes about things like homeless people and the agencies who "served" them.  After 10 years living in Alamosa,  I am continually impressed by what it has to offer - not its agencies but the people who are its heart.  It is a heart that strengthens and encourages the entire community. We are a congregation of hope.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Holiday Miniature Shows

It is THAT time of year:
you're thinking - Christmas shopping, decorations, making a list - checking it twice. . .
I am thinking - it's the SMALL time of year - when artists tie themselves into a pretzel to paint miniature masterpieces that will sell at rock bottom prices at galleries all over the country.
I tell myself every year to start early - like 2 years ago - in order to be ready for holiday shows-
Insert sigh here. . .
One of those great holiday shows is the Taos Hearts & Stars fund raiser, coming up November 24 in Taos - but more about that later. This year I will also be in the Holiday Show at Tracy Miller Studio Gallery in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

So back in October I started putting together 20 miniature paintings ranging in size from 3"x 3" to 5"x 5".  They have taken over my studio and, I think, my life.
For the art lover, this is an opportunity to get an original painted gem at an affordable price and buy for the other art lovers on your Christmas list.
For the artist, the challenge of painting small, is only the beginning.  Working out framing and presentation can take more time than for large work.
These are just a few of the miniature paintings I will have at the Holiday Show in Manitou at the Tracy Miller Gallery.
Click on any images to view them larger.

Class Notes: Getting Small

For the artist, the challenge of painting small is only the beginning.  Working out framing and presentation is a big part of the package.
My work tends to be contemporary and I like a clean look.
I have my framer make a simple frame in 6"x 6" and
5"x 7" sizes. It is a tidy and consistent presentation -  I like that.

Once framing issues are resolved the problems of small work have a lot to do with scale and using brushes in a size that will maintain the same "painting voice" that appears in larger work.
I try for as few strokes of the brush, as possible,  to create shapes that will hold the integrity of the design - as opposed to pulling out the tiny brushes and - well, you know - trying to see how many angels can be painted on the head of a pin.
With small paintings I work for more disciplined brushwork that leads to a straight forward, loose and non-fussy end product.

These pieces are painted on 1/4 inch gatorboard - which is the same type of support I use for all of my work.
The gatorboard is cut to size, gessoed on top and sides, painted as I would any other piece, except to make sure that the sides get attention as well, because they will show. Once the paintings are dry, they are glued onto black foam board so they appear to"float" in the frame.

Class Notes: Summer Plein Air

Our Plein Air Class had a wonderful outdoor season in and around Alamosa; beautiful days and some stunning evenings. I wish I had a good painting from every outing - but alas, it doesn't always work that way. The best part was getting outside; encouraging long time painters, who had never painted out doors, and some absolute beginners who were willing to jump into the deep end. Bravo!
Check out Tom's plein air rig below. He has his table-top easel perched on the seat of a folding chair with the palette resting on the seat - and still plenty of room for tools etc.
Out door work seems to invite ingenuity and creativity- broadening and expanding us.
I for one will be a little sad to move back into the studio but- it's time.  As the last of the Autumn color blows off of the trees we can remember a long and productive Summer/Fall.
It is time to tighten things up a bit and our studio classes starting in November will focus on drawing skills.

Plein Air in Westcliffe, Oct 4 - 6

Two weeks ago, I was in Westcliffe, Colorado at the Sangres Art Guild 6th Annual Plein air Paint Out.
A chilly, but beautiful few days; fortunately the snow forecast for Saturday never materialized. Sue McCullough and I joined about 23 other plein air painters trying to capture the last of the Fall color in Colorado.  As you can see by the photo above there was still a lot to be had. Below, Sue creates the painting that won her a merchandise award at the opening.

 

Below: "Passing Autumn"- 10 x 8, and "Indian Summer"- 9 x 12  are the 2 pieces that I entered into the show that opened on Saturday afternoon at the 3rd Street Gallery in Westcliffe. Click on any of the photos to view them larger.

 

The Sangres Art Guild put on the event and though weekend weather was variable for sure, they did a great job of keeping the artists supplied with coffee and encouragement - not too much pressure, and finished with a beautifully hung show and great food for the opening.  

My piece, "Indian Summer" was awarded 3rd Place- which came with a few dollars- yippee!

Stephen Datz, award winning painter from Grand Junction, CO was the judge, and a painter I greatly admire. It was an honor to receive an award from him. 

The Plein Air Show will hang at the 3rd Street Gallery in Westcliffe until November 4th.

ART - Raising Awareness for the Endangered Landscape

The Art for the Endangered Landscape paint out, back on September 29th, was an event meant to focus attention on an area outside of Del Norte where a wildcat oil well exploration site is proposed that is within a residential site surrounded by public land. The hope was of raising public awareness to the kind devastation perpetrated on Colorado land and its residents by hydraulic fracking in this area; not to mention the misuse of precious water resources in a time of drought . If you do not know what the term "fracking" means- click the link to read about it on Wikipedia.

Sponsored by San Luis Valley Eco System Council and Community Partnerships of Adams State University, the event was successful in bringing this issue forward and getting locals in neighboring areas interested in what is happening on the lands we assume are protected. This is a hot topic in Colorado, involving water use, water rights and destruction in our own back yard. To read more about this issue, click this link. The San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council is a non-profit advocacy organization for Colorado public lands.

The Paint Out morning was quite beautiful, Sue McCullough, David Montgomery and myself, took part to document the area en plein air and enjoyed the general party atmosphere with other artists, music, food and neighbors coming together for a common cause.

As a continuing part of this effort there will be a show, Friday, November 30 at the Community Partnerships Gallery in Alamosa  to highlight work created at the September 29th event.
My piece above "San Francisco Creek", created en plein air on September 29th will be part of the work I will have in that show and profits will go to benefit the San Luis Valley Eco System Council.

Extreme Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at the Class M planet Nearest You

Here I am, getting the last word in "plein air" painting, thanks to good friend and fellow painter Eldon Warren, who is himself, a little other worldly.
Check out his work at his website www.eldonwarrenarts.com.