What Could Be Better?

...than Colorado in June? Not much.
Even better, to be OUT with other painters, from other places who come to the valley. It is like a cultural exchange.
Louise Minks,  comes to Alamosa a couple of times a year from her home in Leverett, Massachusetts, to visit her daughter - and to teach classes at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.
We met up at the beginning of June with Sue McCullough, out at Sue's ranch and enjoyed a morning painting the sweet little Model A that Sue's dad is so proud to show off.
Louise is primarily an acrylic painter and captures the spirit of our western landscape with fabulous color and abstraction. I seldom see, really good acrylic painters, using the medium as it is meant to be used and I am a big fan. She shows her work in Taos at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art - where I am also represented.

I devoted the morning to sketching, something I am trying to devote more time to, instead of always working to a finished painting. Cars are not a big part of what I do in the landscape but the practice time drawing- especially such a fun model, is never wasted.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and see how Louise and Sue tackled the car.

Painting With Friends

Summer and good weather brings artists together and last weekend I met up with Josh Been and Sally Mather to paint in Buena Vista, CO.
Sunday brought Colorado some crazy weather, state- wide, with a couple of tornadoes and golf ball size hail, BUT Saturday was more than perfect- and I am grateful.  We met before dawn at the Collegiate Peaks Overlook for a stellar view of Mt. Princeton as the sun rose.
Sally, Josh and myself, are very different painters with contrasting vision and widely divergent outcomes  - but on a perfect morning -  being OUT there is brings us together.

So Hard to Say Goodbye

Robert Genn: May 15th, 1936 - May 27th 2014. 

Last Tuesday morning Robert Genn, well known, well loved Canadian painter died at his home of pancreatic cancer. He is named as one of the greats, not just in Canada but world wide and this week thousands of artists are grieving for a dear friend and mentor - one they never personally met but loved intensely. 

For 27 years Robert has written the Twice Weekly Letter: his thoughts and musings on ART and Esoterica that brought together readers in 115 countries. So many of these readers would say that Robert’s writings profoundly affected their work as an artist.

The Twice Weekly Letter came regularly to my email box and I would open it even if I was dead tired and had a list of unopened emails waiting.  He spoke to the ‘artistic heart”,  addressing our fears, our triumphs, our connections in the world - to nature, to each other, to our work.

I did not know Robert personally but his letter always came to “Coni”- and his writings often seemed like the words of someone who really knew me - who spoke to the struggles and pitfalls of the artist’s life. Often his comments would be in response to a letter written to him; giving wise advice in the most gentle and unjudgmental manner.  

Last October after coming home from a plein air event I opened the letter titled “the Bomb”,  where he candidly revealed his most recent diagnoses of pancreatic cancer.

 I felt my heart just tumble on to the key board and I am sure the wind of a shared wail went up across the country. People wrote to extend thoughts and prayers and then we all held our collective breath - waiting for the letter we would never want to read.

A beautiful tribute, written by Robert’s daughter, Sara Genn, can be read on the Painter’s Keys website. Sara is also a gifted, generous artist and writer. If you have never heard of Robert Genn or Painter’s Keys website take a look.

Sara Genn will continue to write for "The Letter" and also reprint Robert's many years of profound musings. They are worth reading again.

Thank You Robert, for your generosity in life, and even in death.

"To float like a cloud you have to go to the trouble of becoming one." (Robert Genn).

"We live our short spans in the vortex of a miracle, and while we may not be the center of that vortex, it is magic to be anywhere in there." (Robert Genn).

Taste of Creede Quick Draw

 Memorial Day weekend in southern Colorado can only mean
"The Taste of Creede".
Tucked away in the San Juan Mountains, this is one of Colorado's most colorful and classic high country mining towns and Creede loves tourists and artists. The Memorial weekend party is dedicated to Food, Culinary Arts, and Fine Art.  Sunday's 1 hour Artist's Quick Draw attracts some of the best artists,  and buyers come from all over the country.
This is my 5th year attending and it is one of the most fun events I do all year. Artists gather on Main Street in front of the Stephen Quiller gallery and paint from models, sketches, memory or the view. And tho' this year we painted in less than perfect conditions, everyone had a good time and all the work sold. Colorado painters are hardy and their buyers - very determined.
In the photos Steve Quiller paints away calmly while Sue McCullough finishes her piece, and Karen Bonnie and Kris Gosar ignore the rain.
At the bottom is my piece, painted from a sketch done on a small pond in the Conejos area of Colorado.   8"x10 " is my standard QuickDraw size and very doable in the 1 hour time frame.

Some of the artists attending: Steve Quiller, Susan McCullough, Peggy Stenmark Morgan, Kris Gosar, David Montgomery, Karen Bonnie, Charles Ewing, Jan Thompson, Frankie Will, Gail Frasier, Jessie Crock, and myself - to name a few.

Known for holiday partying, Creede also hosts the National Small Prints Show currently hanging at the Creede Repertory Theatre. Another good reason to visit Creede.
Thank You to Stephen & Marta Quiller and the Creede Chamber of Commerce for putting together a great event.

David Montgomery DEMO in Class

We had a special guest in class Tuesday evening, David Montgomery, noted landscape painted who is based here in Alamosa.
David is known for his dramatic and epic scenes of the Western landscape and is currently showing work at 2 prestigious venues: the Colorado Govenor's Invitational Show in Loveland, and the Plein Air Painters New Mexico Juried Exhibition in Santa Fe.

There is so much to be learned by watching a master walk through his process. Dave brought a piece of photo scrap and a charcoal sketch already completed. Click on photos to enlarge them.
Dave and I paint together in the landscape a lot and tho' our styles differ dramatically, our process has many similarities; the sketch being one. The sketch is where we make decisions about what to say about said photo - or the view before us. Amazingly, this is a step most ignored by beginners.

Dave is a classically and academically trained painter with a refined sense of technical expertise. His unique style has developed from a bent to follow his own "voice" and not painting fad or fashion.  His techniques and tools always stimulate lively discussion among my students.
WHAT was the size of that brush??????
In about 2 hours Dave touched on the history of impressionism and plein air painting technology, painting from reference, using a sketch, working out composition, color theory, edges - brushwork, and what fascinates me most about watching a pro, WHY they do what they do.
He did not consider this piece "done", but will take it home to his famous freezer.  Later,  after a short rest, he can look at it with fresh eyes to judge if the piece has become what he intended or if it needs some tuning. This might mean resolving edges, it might be adding detail to bring the important points out, or it might be simply adding the signature.
Thanks Dave for sharing your work and your process with so much generosity. Read more about David Montgomery and his work - just click here on his name.

Plein Air paintings in Santa Fe

The Plein Air Painters New Mexico (PAPNM) Annual Juried Show opened in Santa Fe last weekend and will be showing through May 17 at the Gary Kim Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This plein air exhibition is representative of a national membership with work entered from all over the country. Last year I won 1st Place in the members category.
If you enjoy landscape painting, especially plein air (painted on location) work. This is the show to see. The Gary Kim Gallery is open 10 am to 5 pm daily.
Check it out if you are in Santa Fe.

The painting below was my entry for this year: 'Mountain August',
a 16x12, painted in Rocky Mountain National Park. To view all the paintings entered, click on the link here: PAPNM Annual Juried Show, or on the link at the top of this post.
This painting is also featured in a quarter page ad in the June issue of Southwest Magazine.

Get on Track- Take a Class

Here we are in the merry month of May; sometimes not so merry in Colorado where spring winds can peel paint right off the house, but as the grass quietly greens up and flowers bud, painting still-life in class feels a little stale. I paint out side pretty much year around but don't expect students to take on the outdoor elements while trying to also juggle elements of design, composition, and color mixing.

Classes start this week and we will turn our focus to all things landscape, building on skills in preparation for the summer session when we actually GO outside and hopefully, put them to good use.
I consider this the LEARNING part of painting; the WISDOM part only comes with you are actually out there.
My advice to any painter wanting to go PLEIN AIR is to just do it; but if your circumstance don't allow - indulge in classes that give you a strong foundation of composition and landscape elements that will help you be more successful when you do go out.
And it is always more fun with other painters.
Take advantage of the time and when the weather turns fine you'll go out with more confidence.

The above plein air piece is a demo- late spring- done in the indirect method.
To read about the Indirect Method go to LABELS on the right and scroll down to Class Notes: Direct and Indirect method.

Two Hours - That is All I Ask For.

Spring is a risky time of year in Colorado. Snow is always threatening and winds can be brutal but finding a morning of quiet sunshine can make it all worthwhile.
Last week Sue and I took a chance on the weather and went out to her ranch to paint.  The morning looked to be a short one with winds coming up from the south and clouds flying overhead but we took some relative protection along a fence. Cranes flew overhead and landed with in a few yards. We could hear them warble to each other and wondered if they could hear us chatting while we painted.
About 11 we could see the snow really come down over the San Juans to the west, that was our cue to clear out.
Spring is the most difficult time of year to paint but I no longer think of it in terms of good days or bad. I think of the season in terms of a good hour- here or there; chasing weather, or running from it - maybe crouched behind a fence, - what ever it takes to get the job done. A couple of good hours will keep me heartened against a week of wind, dust and snow.
At the top is my take on the view and Sue's directly below.
Click on the photo to view it larger.

Winter's Inspiration

Back in January, the San Luis Valley enjoyed a exceptional moonrise over Mt.Blanca. I saw it in the twilight of early evening and snapped this shot. Not great as photography goes - but just enough information to remind me of the impression that moon made on my mind.
In February I posted that photo with the hope of creating a painting from the inspiration - see February 2nd post, Getting Inspiration.

Below is my quick study at 6"x 8"- and I'm happy because it captures the essence of my inspiration. Of course, there was some editing of the view- which is, by the way, from my back porch. I have countless photos of that landscape and fortunately, most of them were taken before the house was built.
Now I hope to recreate this scene at 16"x20". . . . .  I will keep you posted.

Class Notes: Abstracting the Set-up

The last couple of weeks in class we have focused on "abstract" painting because it presents very unique challenges and forces students to look at things a little differently.
In the last post and in the past (see:Class notes: Abstract Painting) we have approached abstract painting from a purely compositional point of view, developing work with a specific compositional theme and color agenda.
This week in class, we are talking about "Representational Abstract" painting;
think Picasso and Georgia O'Keefe.
We started with a still life which I set up in a rather casual way and left on the table for about 10 minutes. This is enough time for students to see and be influenced by colors and shapes,
and work out a rough sketch from the first quick impressions.
Once the still life is removed we are free to focus on shapes in developing the composition. This may mean turning the paintings sideways, or upside down as we are look for interesting shapes, deleting some, redrawing others. We do what ever it takes to help the "items" disappear and the shapes take over.
I have a fascination with outlines (and a life long love of coloring books) so I used them to create, resolve and dissolve shapes. Some artists have a natural tendency to see everything as a landscape. Other artists see the landscape as a really big still life.
No matter how you work,  or what your style is - the very act of putting brush to canvas is an act of abstraction. The difference between the "abstract painter" and the "realist painter" is the level of abstraction. How far do you push the envelope to communicate your idea?
Abstract work has a way of revealing an artist's strengths, weaknesses and natural tendencies because composition, shape and color take precedent over subject matter.