Christmas Present to Myself...

Best Christmas present: a solid week of nothing but painting in my studio! 

Rarely do I have the opportunity to paint multiple days in a row. Well, unless it's the weekend and I have nothing else to do! Usually I paint, I run errands, I do some cooking, I hike, I garden... but not Christmas week this year. I painted!

Selfishly, unapologetically, I painted. All day, every day except Christmas Day. It was glorious!

I wanted to finish the Sheep Rock painting I'd started in November. This was such a fun painting. One of my favorite things I've realized is that when I'm painting these larger landscapes I absolutely remember standing outdoors, painting the scene en plein air. I remember if it was hot, if it was windy. I remember if someone came by, if I spoke to them. Painting these paintings in my studio is like creating a time portal. I love it.

Sheep Rock is so spectacular. It's rhythmic, heroic, and fittingly the 'icon' for the park. The Visitor's Center at John Day Fossil Beds looks out to this mountain. Visitors sit out with their lunches at picnic tables and admire its unique beauty. My last day at the park was spent painting this scene. I think it's amazing.

Sheep Rock. 18x24 oil on Trekell maple panel

(Someone told me they thought they could see a woman in a flowing dress in this painting. I think that is a beautiful, subliminal accident. Do you see it?)

NPS AIR OMG

Yes, that actually means something!
I'll elaborate...

National Park Service + Artist in Residence = Oh My Gawd!

Something I have wanted. Something I have dreamed about. Something that seemed attainable but most likely out a few years... has happened: I have been selected as an Artist for the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Residency program, and I couldn't possibly be more proud or more excited.

JD Fossil Beds, as the locals call it, is in the high desert of Eastern-Central Oregon. When I began my search for a Residency opportunity I was immediately drawn to this park for its rich colorful topography, the geological diversity and its prehistoric significance. Let me go all Wikipedia for you...

"...the park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the region between the late Eocene, about 45 million years ago, and the late Miocene, about 5 million years ago. "

"...The (park) covers a total of 13,944 acres of semi-desert shrub-lands, riparian zones, and colorful badlands."

AMAZING, right?!

Now, LOOK at this place, of course I want to paint here!

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument brings together two of my first loves:  Painting and Geology. Only my family knows that there was a time when I considered studying Geology instead of Fine Art.  I was the little girl with the rock tumbler in her closet who was lulled to sleep by the sound of rolling rocks and swishing water.  My favorite book as a child was a large coffee table book called something like OUR EARTH, and I would spend hours throughout my childhood looking at the chapters on sediment, earth crust, layers of rocks, fossils and shifting plates. It was mesmerizing! But, instead I followed my love of color and composition and I became an artist - an artist who paints outdoors. 

Outdoors, I see rhythms and folds and stripes and angles. I love design in nature. John Day Fossil Beds has ribbons of colors, heavy folds on windblown outcroppings, vertical pillars of basalt and waves of blue volcanic ash hillsides. It is heavenly!

This Labor Day Weekend was a labor of love: I spent it running errands, packing up painting supplies, ensuring I had plenty of supports and panels for paintings... getting ready for this honor, this thrill, this Artist in Residence at one of our National Parks.

Beautifully lost on back roads

Went out to see some Ghost Towns this morning, a long winding road out to Winston and Chloride. Saw lots of old buildings from the Silver rush days and even saw a famous "hanging tree."

Not a whole lot to see but interesting history, pretty 'deliverance' out there so I didn't linger. 

I'd read that there was a town called Monticello that had some vineyards and a winery and looking at my map I saw I could go back the way I came OR continue on Hwy 52 which does become a dirt road and turn off on 142 to Monticello. Did that. Never found the turn off. Drove an hour on that dirt road and finally, FINALLY, came a junction that made me realize I was waaaaaay past the road I'd been looking for! No use turning back so I kept going! The topography was stunning and I saw a few herds of some kind of deer or antelope.

I saw these huge satellites, tons of them, I'd come to the VLA: Very Large Array. The dishes gather invisible light, radio waves, that come from space.

They are able to learn about star birth, Galaxy growth, black holes... and photograph them with radio waves! Amazing.

Finally came to a T and a paved road which led me to a sweet small artsy town called Magdalena. Pulled into a Bear Mountain gallery/cafe and met the owner who used to live in Oakland! She made me a latte and told me about an art exhibit that was coming down today that I should go see.

GREAT gallery space, beautiful luminous and organic oil paintings over vinyl. (Artist:Mery Godigna Collet) Such a find!

I was now way north up near Socorro. I visited a co-op gallery and had a LENGTHY chat with one of the artists, a sweet older woman and terrific pastel artist named Skeeter. How awesome is that name?!

Made it back to Truth or Consequences and settled into a painting spot I found the other day. Love this arched gate, very Santa Fe.

Wrapped up the mega day with a hot spring soak at Palomas. Ahhhhh

Returning to the Scene

Found this good spot overlooking Elephant Butte Island, higher up than where I painted here earlier this week. I arrived early and the water was so beautiful! Like glass...

A few people stopped by to see what I was up to. One man asked if my painting was pastels. I said no, this is oil paint. He said, "no the colors, I've seen them before, thems those Indian colors." Uhh?? 

I'm very pleased with how this painting turned out. I wish I had a small flat brush to get some crisp edges along the water line but I can get those touches in later back in my studio. 

After lunch I took a stroll on Broadway, one of two roads in town :)  Went in to an antique shop, a used book store and a gallery/boutique where a woman sells her jewelry, paintings and paper dress sculptures. The paintings are made out of nail polish. Never heard of that before.

I cruised through town looking at shadows on buildings, cars, trailers... Took a long time for me to settle into a decision. Ended up in an alley basically, with a view to a tiny airstream/argosy trailer. Still needs some tweaks but I'm happy with where it's headed!

About 25-30 feet away from me, the entire time I painted the trailer, which was 2 hrs, an older man in a Grateful Dead Tshirt was standing on the roof of a very large motor home, power washing the roof. 2 HOURS. OMG.

It's the long Holiday Weekend... Tomorrow the other artists in the residency and I are going to a Farmers/ Art Market. That undoubtably will be very very interesting.

White Out

It's nice when the plans you make in advance: well intentioned and researched, actually work out perfectly. 

Up early. 5:30 am. (Before the alarm even.) Check!

Make coffee and breakfast to-go. Check!

Drive South then East, 2hrs, to White Sands National Monument. Yes! Check!

Drive 8 mile scenic loop, do not stop at first pull outs and proceed to furthest point as to have dunes all to self. Check and totally unnecessary since at 8am pretty much no one else was there :)

It felt and looked like I was driving in snow. There was even a 'sand plow' clearing the road (which was also sand.) Other than the 80 degree and climbing temp you would feel like it was a sunny day driving in snow.

It didn't stay 80 for long. After a few hikes on some dune trails where I actually thought I might be a little bit lost... I found the car and drove to a picnic area where I thought I could do a painting. Temp now 88.

The picnic areas are wonderful! Very space age, modern covered tables. I could tell the wind was too much for the tripod and pochade so I just sat at the picnic table and painted the view. The view which was white. White, everywhere. I've never painted something so white, so subtle and soft.

I could have composed a painting with a small area of white and highlighted the expansive and spectacular blue New Mexican sky, but I like to paint not what I see necessarily at a location, but what I feel. I paint an impression of a place, shorthand of a location.

When you are visiting White Sands you are surrounded by white. Tall graceful curving dunes of white. So I wanted to convey that sense of place in my painting foremost. Once in a while you can catch a glimpse of these rough rocky ribbons of peaks off in the distance and they are the visual opposite and a terrific juxtaposition to the soft and sensual sand dunes.

My painting session did not last long. The wind was pushing my pochade across the picnic table! I held it with one hand and painted with the other, fearing the moment I would need to wipe the brush on a paper towel. I was sure the turp jar was going to spill and that would be tragic, couldn't risk that happening. Packed it all up just in time because a big cloud of sand was heading my way, looked like a sandstorm!

I think my painting will turn out well with another session. It's actually pretty interesting and not the complete white-out disaster I thought I might be making. 

The T or C

Determined to get an early start and to head directly to my pre-determined, got it all planned out, location; I got up, made breakfast and coffee to-go and was out the door by 7:45. Success!

Oh! But the light was so nice as I drove through my little temporary town of T or C, I stopped every block to snap photos. The eccentric gauge is high around here; brightly painted houses, trailers of every kind and shape, rickety fences and something you don't see everyday - a house decorated with hats! 

Okay, enough distraction! Well, almost enough... I'd finished my coffee touring up and down the tiny streets! So I stopped at Passion Pie for a refill. I'd heard the coffee was good but when I tried to stop by on Saturday they were closed. At 3. In fact, every shop on the main drag was closed. At 3. You can now imagine what Sunday was like.

Freshly coffee-d, I drove out to the Elephant Butte Dam and Hydropowerplant to paint at a location I'd scouted a few days ago. It's a perfect painting spot.

I sketched 3 canvas panels and painted one, the other 2 I'm saving to paint when I'm in the studio.

I enjoyed painting the Elephant Butte Island! Was just me out there but every now and then a few jet skiers would buzz past the island. I finished at 12:30 and good thing!! The wind! I was holding on to the pochade with one hand and putting items away with the other. Fierce.

It was pretty hot, 88 today, so I was glad to be done with a good painting and relaxing for a bit before.... What everyone wants to do on a hot day: soak in a natural hot spring that is 106* degrees!

I'd booked a private room at Riverbend Hot Springs a few days ago. It's outside, overlooking the Rio Grande. It was so relaxing and thankfully there was a nice breeze. Totally cute place! 

Keeping an eye on the weather, it's heating up and there are a few forecasts ahead for windy conditions. I'll just have to set out early and this time not succumb to cruising the streets of T or C.

No luck. No way. Score.

Up and out pretty early to head south to check out Caballo Lake, New Mexico's largest lake. Thought it might have something to paint with good morning light... No luck. Nothing there but fisherman and jack rabbits.

My back up plan was to head north and go to the top of Elephant Butte where the Rio Grande feeds into the lake. I have a map and it has names for the exits to take and the roads to follow. 

Exit 100 to Catfish Camp ended up as 20 ft of pavement with some garbage before becoming a gravel road. Ummm, no.

Headed south. Exit 92 to Rock House took me to a frontage road that after 2 miles looped under the Highway and became a gravel road. Uhh, no.

Now I was headed back to the Highway but instead of getting on it I went over it and followed a sign to Monticello Point. Paved! No one around but there was a sign that showed there was a boat ramp ahead. That sounded great!

Nope. Boat ramp yes, people yes, but view - not so much. 

Frustrated, I followed what was now a lake frontage road and began seeing little hand made posted signs that read: 'Three Sisters' and 'Highlands South.'

I turned down Highlands South, a dirt road which very soon had posted another sign 'caution soft sand.' Great. I decided to go for it... It wasn't bad and the view was terrific. But I was ALONE. Some beer bottles and a broken chair and a view. But VERY ISOLATED. No way.

Continuing down the lake frontage I came across another handmade sign that said 'Lost Canyon.' As I'd pretty much lost my early start to the day I thought this must be the spot! YES!

Lost Canyon was perfect. Sandy dirt road dropping down to the lake edge, some campers and families around one side and me alone on the other. Happy! Score.

The sun by now was blasting and blazing and provided neither shade for me nor much shadow on the hills for forms, but I was happy to break out the paints and get something down. The sun comes up on the other side of these hills/mesas/buttes so they're in shadow in the morning, flat in the day or orange at 7:45pm when the wind gusts are up. Not ideal. Boo hoo right? I'm in New Mexico, painting!!

Here are a few photos of the view, my set-up and my study propped up indoors where I'm deciding if I got the values and feeling the way I want...

After a break for lunch and a little relaxing, I'm back out trying to find a high point to view Turtle Rock, which overlooks the town of Truth or Consequences. The sun set SHOULD provide some great shadows and bright colors, fingers crossed.

Big House, Little Painting

The LGAA, Los Gatos Art Association, Plein Air painters group meet on Monday mornings. We have a pretty consistent group showing up - whether we meet in town or down the coast in Monterey or up at Davenport. A good solid 11-15 painters I think. Unless it is the Monday of the year when we meet at a spectacular home of one of our members. 

The home belongs to David. I'll leave it at that. It's amazing, a stunning hacienda on many acres with a pond, many fountains, a carriage house, an adorable shed, plants and flowering trees... the works. It's like a trip to Tuscany. So, it's no surprise that on this particular Monday.... we had over 25 artists.

I love when OTHER painters paint street scenes and corner stores, storybook cottages and barns. I love it and I struggle to do it. Architecture is not my thing. I have painted David's home before and although I like that painting, it shows more of a slowly sinking, aged and wobbly adobe cottage in my rendering ;)

This time I really spent a lot of time on the drawing. Getting the angles, the windows right, the roof top... I think it paid off. I am much happier with this painting and can see a lot of areas where I improved in the paint application as well. Having the 'good bones' of a good drawing underneath the paint worked out very well. There's hope for me!

Plein Satisfaction

Today's outing to Plein air paint with my Los Gatos Art Association group was just what I needed. 

I'd had such a shift and growth in my work from the week painting in the Escalante Canyons Art Festival which was followed a few weeks later by a no good painting attempt back home. Very frustrating but it happens. 

I was even a bit anxious for my outing today... Would I be able to keep all the good changes I've made in my landscape paintings??? 

Yes. I'm happy to say, yes.

I painted a cluster of trees along a walking trail and that's a subject matter I've not tackled before, but I loved the rhythm and light on the trees and I think I captured what attracted me to the scene.

Up before the day

Made it out to the parking area at Kiva Koffee at 7am. THE PLAN had been to paint until about 9, go in for a coffee and breakfast, then set back out to finish my piece.

Well, they are CLOSED on Tuesdays! Oh no! So I painted, sans coffee, banana for breakfast, and painted until 11:30.

The cropping of rocks was something I saw on my 'scouting' day earlier in the week. But arriving at 7, just as the sun was coming up I got the chance to see the colors deepen then lighten, the shadows lift and go from purples to blues  and then fade. It was a lovely show!

Zion!

Wanted to play one more day, see Zion and get a hike in since the rain has stopped. Phenomenal! Last time I was there I hiked Angels Landing which is an epic hike. Today I hiked the Narrows which was intimate and beautiful.

Found a great book on the Art of our National Parks as well as saw the poster and tshirt for the Plein Air Invitational at Zion, which will be held in early November.

Bonus! On the was back, came across the Thunderbird Foundation which is a gallery in the old home of Maynard Dixon. Inside was still most of the paintings from the Maynard Dixon Days Plein air invitational held just about a month ago. So inspiring! Small world too, the owner Paul Bingham used to live in Willow Glen and had a gallery in both Los Altos and at the Fairmont in SJ. Had a nice time talking about art with him.

A Two-fer!!

What a day! After my morning painting (under the juniper tree) I took a spontaneous drive up Hell's Backbone Road. I really did not know what to expect. Well... It's long. It's bumpy, gravelly, washboard-like... Bone jarring is pretty accurate! And there is cow traffic!

Gorgeous though! Up and up! At the bridge I met another Escalante artist, Judy from Salt Lake City, we had a great conversation about painting :)

From there I continued on until I popped out near Boulder on Hwy 12. I decided it was cooling down enough (it was. 5:15) that I should check out the light/the view from the Boulder Sinclair Gas Station.

Luck! The light was different than I planned since the cool air and time of late day was bringing clouds.

My piece was of the barn and great rock down in a little valley, I really enjoyed painting this little piece.

I love you Juniper Tree

I drove down a dirt road for about 5 miles and saw this little speck of shade nearby the red rock formation I'd wanted to paint. Oh what a find! I heart you! I'm so thankful I found you little juniper tree!

Here's my dusty, trusty Subaru on location. Other than some pesky flies of various sizes and a stream of ants, it was a quiet painting session.

Plein Air Mondays

Keeping it local this week, we painted in Los Gatos. It was a very HOT morning - I'm definitely going to have to invest in a better sun umbrella! (I've heard good things about Bestbrella)
#pleinair #losgatos #saramordecai #glenridge #toohot #landscapepainting

Day 2, Monterey Plein Air

Most beautiful day! A choir of barking seals, abundant sunshine and envious views. Lucky me, I'm here painting!

Pre Painting

The 2nd annual Plein Air Convention begins tomorrow so I'm down in Monterey a little early to do a bit of pre-painting.

My new Open Box M pochade came last week so I had a piece of glass cut to fit and put it to work today... It's great!

#pleinair #pleinairmagazine #monterey #openboxm #oilpaint

Heavenly Day of Painting

The Plein Air Convention ended but my painting was just warming up. Drove up the road to the Red Rock Canyon and found a stunning spot to set up for an afternoon of painting; Calico II.  Big bold red rocks tipped in yellows with rolling pale green scrub at their base, heaven.

I was thrilled to get sunshine and fluffy clouds to top off this perfect setting.  Very happy with my piece!

Sunshine at last

Much better weather for outdoor painting! The convention painters descended on Bonnie Springs - Near red rocks to paint, we took a group photo too, 600+ artists!