Thursday 19th February 2009 - Ray's Class

I brought in my still life with the champagne bottle to see what Ray would say about it and he said although it was well painted, the composition was just terrible. I said "don't sugar coat it Ray, tell me what you really think!" He showed me some still lifes by Richard Scmidt where the composition is much fuller and that got me thinking about changes I could make.



Then I settled down to painting this one from a photo I took on Monday on a walk with Jane out to the Morada. The snow is melting now and we're getting warm spring like days, which around here means MUD. It was a claggy, hard going trudge to reach the cross at the end of the walk but the views were worth it.

The Morada itself has been taken back by the church as it was falling into disrepair, the adobe turning back into mud. While it is picturesque (for a while) to see it crumbling, I am delighted to see it restored and protected from the elements.

It was Ray that suggested the Native American in a blanket, leaning against the wall. In my first attempt, my fellow classmates were laughing that it looked like a hobo peeing against the wall! so I implied his face to show him facing away from the wall.

Melting Snow at the Morada - 10 x 20" - oil on canvas - $795

Tuesday 15th July 2008 - A Path Through the Sagebrush

I met up with Jane and Michelle at one of our favourite gorge overlooks. but I kept getting drawn to paint the mountains in the distance. We've had a lot of rain recently and the effect of atmospheric perspective, where the mountains get bluer into the distance, was much more pronounced than it usually is. So even though I was standing so near the gorge, I didn't paint it, but painted this dirt road disappearing over a hill instead.

A Path Through the Sagebrush - 12 x 12" - oil on canvas - sold

Friday 19th October 2007 - Shannon in Sagebrush

A beautiful Fall day and the Friday Alla Prima group met at the San Geronimo Inn to paint Shannon. We spotted this patch of sagebrush and chamisa with the Fall colours behind and got Shannon to walk around in this scene until she looked just right. I particularly like the colours of her clothes against the sagebrush.

Kemper reminded me that there are a number of miniature events coming up so I chose a smaller canvas than usual. it was fun for me to do a figure in a landscape for a change rather than a portrait OR a landscape.

Shannon in Sagebrush - oil on canvas - 8x10" - $295

Thursday 4th October - Morada

I go to this morada very often, it is a 40 minute walk there and back from my house. Beyond this run down old adobe building, which used to house monks of the self flagellating kind, is a strip of land given to the morada by the Indians with a big cross at the end. By the time you get to the cross you are well into Indian land and the views of the mountains are stunning. it's a great place to do a sunset walk as well.



My friend Rich Nichols was running a workshop with Don Ward and they invited me to come out and paint with them. I originally was going to work on a small square canvas but then I wanter to fit in Taos Mountain and then I wanted to squeeze in El Salto, the mountain to the left of Taos Mountain that looks like a breast and a pregnant belly. i trudged the distance back to my car where I had this long canvas ready for such an occasion.
I really enjoyed this morning's painting and felt happy with the colours I had mixed for the mountains and the sagebrush.

Morada - oil on canvas - 15x30" - $1,350