From Estes to Salida

The Estes Park Paint Out seems - ah - like moments ago. I think the leaves were still green, but things change quickly around here.
These 3 pieces were done in Rocky Mountain National Park during that paint out, and I won the People's Choice Award at the opening of the Western Light Show on August 26th. Well, THANKS people.
The very next weekend I was in Boulder for the Women of the West Show opening that highlighted the work of 6 women painters. See the post below.
And that painting on the promo card, was one of the first to sell.

But that was then. . . . .
Next week Sue and I will be painting in and around the Arkansas River Valley at the Colorado Mountain Plein Air Fest; and staying all week in that great Colorado art town of Salida.
Catch the opening reception at the Salida SteamPlant Event Center on Saturday night the 24th at 5 pm where some of the best Western plein air painters will gather to show their work from the week of painting.



This photo is pretty bad; falls into the 'documentation' category. I forgot to take a photo before leaving it at the gallery so had to shoot it on the fly right before the show.
Sometimes, at a event and show like this, there is just too much to do.

Women of the West

Tomorrow night I will be in Boulder, CO at the opening of the Women of the West Show. This show features the work of 6 women represented by Earthwood Gallery: Sarah Rogers, Margaret Jensen, Terri Sanchez, Maggie Renner Hellmann, Cindy Carillo and myself.
Join us for food and art at Earthwood Gallery on the beautiful Pearl Street Mall, just a short drive from the Denver metro area.

This show comes right on the heals of a wonderful week of painting in Rocky Mountain National Park followed by the Western Light show that opened on Friday night at Earthwood Collections in Estes Park and will hang through October.
Paintings hung in these two shows represent my very best work from this last Spring and Summer.
The piece on the promotion for the Women of the West Show is my painting titled "Edge of Autumn", 20"x 10".

Estes Park Plein Air

It's August and I am heading up to Estes Park for the Plein Air Event and Western Light Shows. This is the highlight of my summer painting season and Sue will be going as well. YaY!
My show, Western Light, will open on Friday night August 26, 6pm at Earthwood Collections, and will feature my work as well as that of James Whartman, Eldon Warren, Maggie Renner Hellmann, Margaret Jensen, Tim Howe, Cindy Carrillo, Lou Renner, Terri Sanchez, and Mike Brouse. Earthwood is on Elkhorn Drive - that's the main drag.
Sue's show will open on Saturday night the 27th, 6pm at the Cultural Arts Council, further up on Elkhorn. It will be a big weekend for art openings in Estes Park so if you are in the Denver area, take a drive up to beautiful Estes Park for the weekend. A perfect hurrah for the end of summer.
Posted at the top is my painting from last Thursday in Rock Creek- a 9x12.
This piece will go up to Boulder for the Women of the West Show that will open there at Earthwood Gallery on Friday night Sept 2.
I am a little crazed right now, getting ready to go and still framing work, ect, ect.
Tonight in Taos, my good friend the fabulous Peggy Immel opens a one woman show at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, 5-7pm. If you are in the Taos area - this is the show to see.
Peggy will also be one of our merry band of plein air painters in Estes Park, along with Patrice Walker.
There is a rumor that David Montgomery will also be in Estes Park. I hope we all get some painting done.

Art of the TRADE - Part 3

To read "Art of the Trade", Parts 1 & 2, scroll down thru the posts.

Let's Talk Trade.
My concrete driveway has been installed and it is beautiful; now it's time to create the art.
I think the best case scenario would be for the client to want something that you already have in your inventory. Wouldn't that be ideal?
But part of his willingness to go forward, weighed heavily on the idea that work would be created for him, and suited to a specific situation. And I am very willing to be flexible at this point.
The job is now like a commission - So, I visited the home of my concrete contractor and realized - I was in the wrong business. . . . just kidding. The house is a large quasi-spanish style home decorated with a lot of color and there were many options for a large art. He decided on 2 panels at 48"x 20" that would go on either side of french doors. This suited me perfectly because I love to do verticals.
As to subject matter, if the client does not has a specific idea in mind, or does not want a larger version of a plein air piece, then I like to talk only in terms of color and design. This gives me freedom to explore different subjects, with the idea that, in the end, the client will choose from 2 black & white layouts. That is normally how I would approach commissioned work for a client. I like to know exactly where I am headed, and have the client's O.K. before going there.
In this case tho, by the time I left his house, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and my gut told me to jump in, skip the layout stage, and create 2 half-size paintings to use as studies for the bigger panels.
Of course, this could backfire but the benefit to me would be: instead of spending time poring over 2 large-size layouts of differing subject matter, I could work out subject, color and design in the half-size and if the client didn't like what he saw at the small size - I would still have 2 paintings to sell - and I could work up new layouts.


















These are the "layouts" at 24"x 12" and painted together so that they work as one whole. The individual panels should also be able to stand alone, which they will, when hung separately on either sides of french doors. Click on the photos to view them larger.

Painting in the Fabulous Zapata

Last week the Tuesday night painting class went out to Adams State College to paint in the twilight and light drizzle. This was my view up the 3rd Street; a 6"x 8".

The next day David Montgomery and I drove up into the Sangres to paint in the Zapata area on the side of Mount Blanca. I love this area because it has so much: deep aspen groves, dark pine woods, running water, high desert and pinon, a lake, long views of the valley - all in the shadow of Mount Blanca.
We found this burbling little water fall right by the side of the road and painted there for most of the morning. David is very adept at this deep woods and water thing - me - not so much; but I have been trying to do more waterfall subjects and actually seek out what, in the past I would run from. This painting is 12"x 9" and was really a challenge.
I am hoping Dave has posted his piece on his blog- just click on this link to get to his blog.

Hazards of the Trail

Sometimes the hardest thing about a day is the view: finding it, trapping it, painting it - but there are other hazards: cows moving to new pasture, drunk campers, weather. This day, on our way up to Rock Creek, Sue McCullough, David Montgomery and myself, made a stop for a friend, coiled up in the middle of the road.
I saw snakes, of all kinds in California, but this is my first Rattle Snake here in Colorado - and it gives one pause. They like to sun in warm spots, like the middle of the road, or find the cool in the underbrush - so, be careful where you step when finding that perfect view.

Rock Creek Revisited

Last week Sue and I went back up to Rock Creek for a morning of painting. I have been looking at streams and little waterfall configurations lately; to practice something I haven't done a lot of.
My first interpretation of this view is a few posts back, but I like this one much better and also like the 1 x 2 format better as well.
This piece is 6"x 12".
You can see my set-up and sketch in the photo at the bottom. About the time I got really into painting a herd of cows came up the road at my back. In an effort to avoid me and still cross the stream, there was a lot of mooing and thrashing around.

Art of the TRADE - Part 2

To read "Art of the Trade", Part 1, scroll down 3 posts.

The TRADE is not an emotional buy, it is a negotiated buy.
The person that you are doing business with might never have purchased a painting from you - either directly or in a gallery - on their own. Part of what you are offering is a unique opportunity.
You may be saying to yourself -
"no one would ever take my work in trade",
but you might be surprised. If you have ever SOLD a piece of art, or are currently being represented by a gallery, your work has value.
Most people, even those who don't buy art, have a sense that good work has value, and that it might even appreciate in the future.
So, if you want to use your work for a possible trade,
first get a good idea of it's fair market price.
The retail value of a piece would be the price set in a gallery. Most artists get 50- 60% on work that sells out of a gallery and that could be considered the wholesale value. Know what you have before you jump into the game.
This Spring I was able to negotiate a trade with a local concrete contractor for a new driveway- probably my biggest trade yet.
I went about it by first getting a bid for the work.
From experience, I know that roughly half of his costs are materials and the other half labor. It isn't reasonable to expect to trade for the entire amount but it might be possible to propose a trade for half.
Once I had his bid I figured out what I could offer that would roughly equal half and worked out a proposal from there.
From my point of view there is nothing to lose here; all he can say is "No" and I haven't lost a thing. So if the party you approach does not want to trade - don't take it personally; this is a business deal, not a passion purchase.
In the end, I found out that the wife of my contractor had seen my work locally and liked it. That helped!
I am also fortunate that my work could be viewed in a gallery within driving distance, so they could easily see, both the type of work I was proposing and also get an idea of its retail worth.
It was surprising but also very gratifying, when the couple decided to go through with the trade and once that was decided it went forward almost like a commission.
I would make one thing very clear here: the decision to trade services for art was made and put in writing, with the bid, BEFORE any work started. If you are thinking of negotiating a trade, propose it at the start; don't pull up at the last minute with art instead of cash; VERY bad form.
My driveway was installed and we talked over the kind of painting that would be suitable to his taste, but also to the trade amount in question.
At this point I can be very flexible because, essentially the art has been paid for, up front.
In the next post about 'Art of the Trade', I will talk more about my trade negotiations and the actual art involved.

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'.

Painting in heaven

Sarah Waldron is a friend & colleague from my designer days in San Francisco. She left the field before I did, turned herself into an award winning illustrator then great painter and fine artist.
This summer she is one of 5 artists chosen for a residency through the Maryland Institute College of Art, hosted in the medieval village of Lehon Brittany.

"The residency provides time for uninterrupted work in an inspiring and historic setting made unique by Brittany;s extraordinary light, distinctive landscape, and rich cultural traditions, a favorite location for the French Impressionists." her words.

Sarah's work proposal for the Residency was "History Reflected in the Waters". Just the title sounds so wonderful and when you see her work you will understand.
So I invite you to spend a few internet moments "in France" for beautiful photos and paintings. Use this link to Sarah's Blog.