San Luis Valley Painters present "Small Wonders"

The San Luis Valley Painters are featured in an exhibition all month at Milagros Coffee House on the corner of Main and State streets in Alamosa.
Charming and colorful, small and affordable, there are pieces in watercolor, oil, fabric and fibre, collage, encaustic; SMALL WONDERS.

SLV Painters is a group loosely associated with my painting classes and every Spring we present an exhibition, giving even beginning painters a chance to show work.  This opportunity is open to anyone who has ever painted in my class, and requires all the hoop jumping and mechanics involved in preparing work to be exhibited in public.
Our SMall Wonders show features 10 artists, working at all levels.  The are:  Heidi Algrim, Mary Anne Buehler, Yvon Boss, Peg Collins,
Lara M. Demlo, Mary Susan Eldredge, Coni Grant, Judith Greenwood,
Perla Kopeloff, and Richard Luckemeier.
All the work is for sale and at
64 Sq. inches or smaller,
very affordable.
BRAVO! to all the painters who
participated - and Thank You!

Please join the SLV Painters at a reception on Sunday March 16th, from 2- 4 pm at Milagros, corner of Main and State in Alamosa.  Refreshments will be provided.
All work on display is for sale with 20% of the purchase price donated to LaPuente. The “Small Wonders” show will continue through the end of March.

For information about SLV Painters or painting classes call the Alamosa Family Recreation Center at 589-2105.

Classes Notes: Painting Drapery

I confess, I have had a bias against "drapery" - probably from the tedious hours of drapery rendering that we did in college painting.  ZZZzzzzzzz.

And when there are so many other fun things to paint -  drapery, for its own sake seems SO prosaic.
But, when a student made the request - I figured it was time.  In my on-line research I found: "The secrets to painting drapery" (it is still a secret),  "How to make elegant drapery",  "Understanding Drapery", etc, etc.
This is all good stuff but I can't believe "drapery" is so much different than anything else 3 dimensional that we are trying to communicate on a 2 dimensional plane.
It has to be about shapes.
The top/red drape is my first demo and I started with a Sharpie sketch to organize the big shapes.
It was hard. It was fun.
After class I began to look at books for painted drapery - classical and otherwise and when I pulled out a book on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel- a light went on. I am sure that sounds pretentious . . . what can I say.
But, his drapery is so bold, so simple, so understandable.
It makes sense, that a sculptor would paint drapery that was oh, so readable, and not tight or bogged down with minutiae.
This photo, from the book by Lucinda Hawkins Collinge & Annabel Ricketts, is what we studied in class.
I can't say we came up with any secrets to painting drapery but just looking at work from a master made a big difference. We all did stronger work in the second week.  It seemed to make real sense.
My second demo is the green one and even in its unfinished state it has more volume.
Thanks Michelangelo.

Looking for Snow

At this time of year the landscape can be pretty spare in Colorado. Finding color in the neutral shades challenges me - and not in a way that I like- so as long as there is snow to be found I will be out in it.
Sue McCullough and I drove up to Rock Creek not too long ago, looking for deep snow and spent a PERFECT morning painting. Perfect means: temps over 10, no wind and a bright day with no cloud cover. Being out in the mountains on a day like that - I don't even care if the painting turns out to be a bomb; but as a rule  Rock Creek does not disappoint.  Just a short drive into the high country and you find every kind of view - short and long, with pine and aspen forests, majestic snow covered peaks, rocky canyons, and no sign of civilization. It is hard to go wrong.

Art is For Everyone - even Astronauts

Work from the Alamosa Family Rec Center Youth Art Program is currently on display (March- April) at Weiss Cleaners in downtown Alamosa. The work is an expression of the theme " What I want to be" and catches kids in the act of envisioning their future.
I love the fact that in a kid's world - everyone does art; everyone creates, even astronauts, hairdressers, scientists, farmers.

This is an ongoing class taught by Suzanne Greenwood, New Mexico State University graduate with a BFA in clay sculpture and herself a brilliantly creative artist.
So the call is out: send your future farmers, math minds, scientific geniuses, engineers, doctors, nurses, musical prodigies,  6- 12 yrs old - and help them create their future.
For more information about the Rec Center Youth Art Classes for Spring and Summer call
589-2105 or visit www.alamosarec.org.

PLACES and SPACES

February 14th was the reception for my solo exhibition
"Places and Spaces" highlighting work of the San Luis Valley.
Whew!
And that big one in the photo - it has also left the building - THANKS to collectors in Kansas.

It was all so much work, but a pleasure to show in my home town - something I try to do every 2 or 3 years.  The ARTrium Gallery space, located inside our SLV Hospital is also one of the most beautiful venues in southern Colorado. I was able to show about 35 pieces during the 3 months that this show hung, and I sold over half of the work - including the one in this photo.  It was especially gratifying that buyers came to the reception from as far away as Denver and Santa Fe - and carried work home with them.
Thanks to the SLVHRMC Hospital Foundation for providing such a great ART space and one that is also enjoyed on a daily basis by doctors, nurses and many patients on their way into surgery or back to recovery. The SLV Medical Center owns several pieces of mine - as part of their permanent collection.
- another reason why I love this place. Thanks so much friends.

February 2nd - Already?

Today is both Ground Hog Day and Superbowl Sunday. Yikes! The first time, ever- these dates have collided.
I am hoping that Punxsutawney Phil sees the shadow of Peyton Manning and the Broncos winning the game.

This is what folks in cold climates do in the winter; watch too much football and talk to groundhogs. I never understood these things when I lived in California where it is never ending Spring. Painters go outside and enjoy ubiquitously pleasant weather year around.  Here in Colorado, where temps last month hardly rose above 5, we must flow with the seasons. This season being the really cold one.  In December I was busy with 3 shows all going at the same time and involving about 50 paintings, big and small. And I am very grateful,  but by New Years I was very ready to watch football and meditate on rodent weather predictions. I guess we all have times like this.
It isn't inspiration I lack, just motivation to follow through. This blog for example, I have written it - with pure genius I might add, a hundred times in my head, while driving, talking on the phone, sleeping . . . 
it just never made it to hard copy.
So, what does a plein air painter do during these dark days of winter when motivation and inspiration are at low tide?
My studio did get a pretty thorough cleaning this month, but mostly,
I lean on the classes that I teach to keep me moving forward. Class times are social, for sure but we take simple set ups and hone the craft of painting with no pressures. This is very different than painting for the market.

Essentially, I took the month off and tried not to say "I should be painting" but pondered the snowflakes and let the joy of painting, the "WANT TO"  to come back.
When the full moon rose above Mount Blanca on Jan 15th, I snapped this photo from my back porch. Sometime in the next few months the inspiration from this will show up in a new piece.

Winter Dreams of Summer's End

This plein air painting, done at the end of last summer is a part of the solo show that I hung at the beginning of December here in Alamosa at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center ARTrium Gallery. This solo exhibition has been the major focus of my year and I felt real relief as it all came together.
A huge "Thanks"
to the San Luis Valley Medical Center for creating such a beautiful dedicated space for art in this community and for all the encouragement from the staff.  I am thrilled that 4 pieces sold right after the show went up.  The reception will be February 14th - save the date;  paintings will hang until the end of February.
I for one am happy to throw myself into the Christmas Holiday and do a little quiet non-painting meditation before heading into the new year.
Thanks to my galleries; it has not been any easy for those in the way of fire and flood here in Colorado. This is one year we are ready to see come to an end.
Thanks to folks who purchased paintings this year, from me or from other artists. Thanks for supporting art and the people who make it.
Thanks to all my students; you keep me honest and keep me on track.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a blessed holiday season.
See you in January.

TracyMiller Gallery Presents
100 for $100
2^nd Annual Holiday Art Show and Sale

“Sangre Summer”  oil   5” x 5”   ©Coni Grant  SOLD

“Stars & Snow”  oil   4” x 4”   ©Coni Grant  SOLD

Featuring: Coni Grant, Karen Anderson, Danyl Cook, Nancye Culbreath, Lorraine Danzo,

Mark Day, Will Ersland, Patrice Filler, David Gonzales, Ded Komitor,

Shar McClure, Audrie Mergelman, Tracy Miller, Laura Reilly, Jack Risley & Sue Tormoen

Opening Reception Sat. Nov. 30^th  3 ~ 6pm
16 Ruxton Ave., Manitou Springs, CO
Show continues through Dec. 31^st

Class Notes: SEEING Values and Creating the Notan

Good art/design is based on the interaction of light and dark; we call it Value. Seeing the Value pattern is key to strong work. That's why painters squint: at the still life, at the landscape - squinting helps to better see the Value pattern in the subject. Seeing the light and dark pattern and translating that to a 2 value notan sketch creates a Value foundation for the final work.
We have all seen work where the artist has no sense of a value pattern; it appears spiritless and blah.
In a great painting we may enjoy a stunning image or beautiful technique but you can be sure - behind every GREAT painting is a strong Value pattern, planned at the sketch/notan stage to create a well organized arrangement of light and dark.
Above is a simple class setup and the notan created for the painting. Can you see the notan in the photo of the pears?
French Impressionists used the notan idea as did the great illustrators of the 19th and 20th century- I am thinking of Howard Pyle and Norman Rockwell.
Call up some their work on the internet and take a look. Squint and see if you can see the notan - or the strong pattern of light and dark.

Class Notes: Notan - as in "You have a nice NOTAN"

I have never heard the word thrown around so much as I did last week in Sedona. Someone actually came up to me while I was painting and said,
"I love your Notan";
Hmmmm. I'll take that as a compliment.
Notan refers to a type of sketch and comes from the combination of the 2 Japanese words for 'light' and 'dark'.
Artists use the term to refer to the interaction between the two - like a dance; and it's a cool word that addresses it.
Good design, consequently all good painting,  is based on the balance and play between light and dark, regardless of color.
As well, its importance strengthens the argument for creating a SKETCH before painting.
Shown here is the type of 2 value 'notan' that I create with a Sharpie pen for each painting; just black and white - no 3rd value gray.

Most artists use the more common, 3 value sketch (or 3 value notan) to lay out values and it is what I teach in class.  I have written several blog posts on creating a simple 3 value sketch, which is a good thing to know.
Having said that however,  in my own work outside of class, I do a 2 value 'notan', and started doing that early on when I realized how the power of a 2 value sketch could revolutionize my work; and it has done just that.
So, we will spend some time this class session exploring the dance of light and dark balance  - while working the 2 value notan in class.
Bring a small sketch pad and a Sharpie pen and don't forget the paints.
To read more about 'notan'- scroll down the labels on the right to see Class Notes on Sketching and Notan.