Looking down, looking up

It only took about a half hour east of Albuquerque for the red rocks that I love so much to appear. Gorgeous!

8 hours in the car today... Pretty much my max. Made a terrific stop to see the Meteor Crater, I totally recommend a quick stop here if you're driving near Flagstaff Arizona. It's WINDY!!! 

After a beautiful 40 minute drive down through forests and more red rocks I finally arrived in Sedona.

Absolutely one of the most beautiful places on earth I believe.

Tomorrow is a painting day! Can't wait!

Wherever Here Is

Well, I made it! Another long drive and a lot of wind and even some rain, I'm officially now in Truth or Consequences.

Tomorrow I'll get situated: what's the light like on Elephant Butte in the morning? In the afternoon? What about the lake? Is there a view point that will look over the town? 

Already I found the local grocery, which is small but surprisingly well stocked with every type of Hoho-Dingdong-Cakey treat as well as a pretty decent selection of organic goods. It's very eclectic.

Up the hill is a Walmart. I have now shopped at Walmart. A first. Well, the FIRST was on Long Island to buy Fisher-Price rollerblades and an elbow and knee pad set for a photo shoot- but that was a work thing and so it doesn't really count, right? So, yes, I've now shopped at Walmart. 

There are 4 of us here at the Residency. All female, which surprised me for some reason.

One is from San Francisco and has been a professional painter for 30 years. Her work is very contemporary, Color Field paintings and some Political folk art. The other 2 are entering the Graduate program at Yale in the fall. 

This is my first Residency, so I'll be learning a lot. The Starry Night Residency program is a privately owned. I think this is going to be a good introduction to how this process and focus will work. It's exciting when something you have wanted... something you have tried to achieve.... for a very long time - comes to be. I'm proud. I'm a little nervous. I'm terribly excited.

Okey... Day 3: 320 miles. ARRIVED.

Tomorrow, reconnaissance.

Crossing Arizona

Still on my way to my destination. Today was a straight shot from Palm Desert on the 10 past Phoenix and into Tucson. Surprised to discover I have no cell service in Tucson! This does not bode well for the remote areas where I'll be painting in southern New Mexico!

I'd read about a gallery in Tucson that had within it a small Maynard Dixon Museum, so after checking into my hotel (very circa 1975) I set off, sans 4G and wifi, to find the Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery. What a find!!

Gallery is in a strip mall, a strange location for such fabulous art. I went there to see the Maynard Dixon work. What an unexpected delight to find: Gregory Kondos (I've been fortunate to have studied with him twice, he's a treasure); Ray Roberts, a spectacular Plein air painter; Dennis Ziemienski, who I took a class from in Undergraduate and is a phenomenal illustrator and painter; Francis Livingston!! One of America's top Illustrators had some breathtaking landscapes and western paintings; a few stunning paintings by Ed Mell and Mark Bowles; and lastly, a wonderful collection of pieces by Josh Elliott.

Sadly, no photos allowed :(

Across the street was a Chevron where I filled the tank for.... $1.69 a gallon OMG!!

Day 2 drive of 400 miles, and one day closer to my destination! 

Thank you to all the kudos and well wishes!

The Long, Long, Never-ending Spectacular Drive

Indeed. So happy to arrive in Escalante and to get out of the car! I drove 7 hours Monday followed by 10.5 today. First over Tioga in Yosemite to Lee Vining. Amazing! Then headed out to Mono Lake to hike around before sunset. Spectacular! A good nights sleep despite a strange dream about bears... And I was up and on 120E again to cut through and across and on and on and on: Nevada.

Saw beautiful scrubby high desert, an alien statue and the sticker covered Extraterrestrial Hwy Sign. Really, beautiful. My heart does a skip and twirl though when I see the red rocks of Utah. How I love them! 

The Long, Long, Never-ending Spectacular Drive

Indeed. So happy to arrive in Escalante and to get out of the car! I drove 7 hours Monday followed by 10.5 today. First over Tioga in Yosemite to Lee Vining. Amazing! Then headed out to Mono Lake to hike around before sunset. Spectacular! A good nights sleep despite a strange dream about bears... And I was up and on 120E again to cut through and across and on and on and on: Nevada.

Saw beautiful scrubby high desert, an alien statue and the sticker covered Extraterrestrial Hwy Sign. Really, beautiful. My heart does a skip and twirl though when I see the red rocks of Utah. How I love them! 

Preparation

And so it begins.
The packing! It's always a tiny bit of a challenge to pack for a single trip with a variety of events.

We have the Road trip: endless drives across deserts and sierras. This means a cooler,  jugs of water and snacks: (apples, celery with almond butter, oranges and tomatoes from the garden, mixed unsalted nuts.) My CD player doesn't work so I have my iPod and portable speaker that plugs into the cig lighter. I downloaded a new Louise Penny book to listen to while I drive. I have my iphone and charger, flares for an emergency and loads of maps in case the wifi doesn't work on the phone which I'm pretty certain 9/10ths of my trip it may not. 

We have the sleeping: Tents. Yes. I am bringing 2 tents. Crazy? I think not. There is about a weeks worth of single night or 2 night stays, so for those I have my 2 person REI Dome tent. My go-to tent. Easy up, small and packs really small. The other tent is a 4 person tent. A Grand Trunk tent. SO easy. Love this thing. I'll have a long extended stay in one location while I'm painting so I'm 'settling' in and I suppose - Glamping!  There's room for a tri-fold 4" japanese futon in both tents so I will be comfy. I adore my Big Agnes sleeping bag, called the Ethel. She's WARM and I'll be fine on those 48° degree nights and mornings. (Fingers crossed!) A pillow is coming with as well as a thick wool blanket JUST IN CASE Ethel isn't enough. I'm also bringing a throw rug and extra footprint and good rain fly. Apparently a nice rain storm blows through the valley just about every day. Thunder too!

Then there is the actual camping. Tents and sleeping bags are a given, but then there is a chair, my AeroPress and hand grinder and pound of whole bean coffee. (I know the requirements for camping right!) My JetBoil and fuel. Tuna and Beans and Oatmeal. The basics. Spork. Cutting board and knife. (Yes, also, 2 bottles of red wine.) (I do know how to camp right.)

Next up: The essentials. Toiletries and Clothing and Camera and Reading material.
Clothing for hiking and canyoneering.
Clothing for painting.
Clothing for everyday.
Something a little bit nice for the Art Reception and Shows.
Rain jacket. Fleece for cold painting days. Down jacket for nights.
Camera. Charger. Extra battery. Waterproof case (remember the canyoneering!)
Books. Book on Bryce and Zion. Book on Grand Canyon. A new Lee Child/Jack Reacher novel (!!) and an old Sunset magazine I found, still sealed from last year, all on the Grand Canyon!

Lastly, the painting stuff.
My OpenBoxM pochade, tripod, BestBrella, turp, extra turp, paints (not really a limited palette but still less than my normal palette, panels and panels galore. Then there are the boxes of frames! 4 9x12 floaters and 4 6x8 floaters as well as a bonus 6x8 frame that is just super cool and will look great with a colorful desert painting in it. Brushes and a big hat and wet panel carriers... that pile adds up quickly.

Now to fit it all into the car.