Plein Air, Part 1

 

Stinking Springs Canyon

 16” X 20”

 Acrylic on Canvas

Over the July 4^th weekend I went to a plein air event at Mesa Verde Lavender Farm in Mancos, Colorado.

What a beautiful place! It sits on the shoulder of a ridge that (predictably) offers a view of Mesa Verde in the distance. The fields of lavender were in full bloom, perfect mounds of dense blooms in neat rows nestled between charming outbuildings. A pond, surrounded by trees and flowers provided a serene place for several of the artists to paint.

The farm is somewhat remote, a hidden gem at the end of many turns along dirt roads. It sits alongside a deep canyon, rimmed (and filled) with sage, piñon pine, grasses, rabbitbrush, and more. And that’s what drew my attention. The lavender and outbuildings were delightful, but the canyon was what I wanted to paint.

I arrived early, eager to get in as much time painting as possible before the day warmed up. I hadn’t been out plein air painting since the fall. Despite the bugs, wind, dust, and sometimes rain and snow, I LOVE getting outdoors and painting on site.

I found a great spot under a large piñon pine and began to set up my easel and paints. I hadn’t been out painting with my French easel in a while, so the set up took a bit longer than expected.

I started with a small canvas capturing the distant view of Mesa Verde. It began well but quickly things went wrong. I considered it my warm-up painting. Then I moved on to the larger canvas, which was a bit ambitious, and went to work on painting the canyon. I kept at it until I lost my shade. By then it was 90 degrees, so I called it a day. This delicate magnolia was definitely wilting 😊.

The next afternoon, the participating artists gathered to display their work at a charming little bar in Mancos. It was fun to see everyone’s work—all so very different from one another. As I was leaving, a group complemented me on my painting, saying it looked just like that canyon.

“By the way,” someone said, “do you know the name of that canyon?”

“Oh, no! I’d love to know!” I replied.

“Stinking Springs Canyon.”

Ha! Well of course that would have to be the name of this piece.

P.S. My studio show is coming up soon—October 18. You'll see this painting and many others as well! Contact me if you are interested in attending! 

Only Three Colors

It is amazing how many colors you can create in watercolor using only the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. Creating a painting with transparent versions of these colors can really stretch your color skills. 

Here are two paintings started as teaching demonstrations that I later finished.

Pine River Valley
Watercolor
8” X 10”

This valley above Lake Vallecito is gorgeous. The Pine River trail gently undulates for the first few miles along the edge of a lush, grassy valley against rocky cliffs. We’ve hiked this trail in all seasons and each time we see something new.

A fence runs along the trail for the first three miles because there is an easement across a private ranch. There is an area where you’ll see yaks grazing in the meadows—yes, Yaks. Not a critter you expect to see as livestock in Colorado.

This image came from a pretty spring morning when the temperature was just perfect—not too hot and not too cold. A Goldilocks kind of day that feels like a distant memory given today’s 94 degrees. I was drawn to the backlit spruce trees that contrasted with the deep blue shadows of the ridge on the other side of the narrow valley.

San Juan Cliffs
Watercolor
8” x 10”

This was a demonstration piece I started on a women’s watercolor workshop and river trip on the San Juan River in Utah. The cliffs along the San Juan River are awe-inspiring and come in an array of colors and textures.

I helped teach watercolor techniques to the group, including the three-color challenge that resulted in beautiful paintings by the artists. I demonstrated how you begin with yellow, applying it where it is part of the final color. When it dries, you add the next layer (or “glaze”) of red or blue. The layers of transparent paint “mix”, to create colors on the painting. This gives a different result than when you mix colors on the palette and apply that color to the paper. As an example, there is a layer (or multiple layers) of yellow followed by a layer of red to create varying shades of orange. Add a layer of blue, and you get brown.

It’s a fun challenge, and sometimes I limit my palette to the primary colors to experiment and discover new ways of creating colors in a painting. This method provides a pleasing color continuity throughout the piece, which adds a unique and lively quality.

Art supplies are a powerful magnet for artists. It’s kind of a sickness, some people might say. When I discover a new color, I get a little weak in the knees. Most artists can’t help themselves: “Oh my gosh, that golden brown and delicate purple are so luscious—I HAVE to have them.” But the reality is with the basic three—plus a couple of earth tones—you have what you need to get started with watercolor. 

Sunlit Gully

 

Sunlit Gully
15” x 11”
Watercolor

We packed up a lunch and set out to explore new places on the map in the San Juan National Forest. What a day! Serpentine roads through rocky canyons gave way to dense trees footed with lush, spring-green ground-cover, dotted with tiny white flowers ruffling in the breeze. We rose in elevation and encountered patches of snow on the deeply shaded north slopes, and swathes of Columbine, Blue Bells, and Larkspur in the sunny spots. There were trickles of melted snow running down crevices and mossy seeps along rocky shelves that lined the roads.

Finally, we reached the ridge’s backbone, the road running along sections of The Highline and Colorado Trails. The views went on forever!

Then, it was on to the very steep descent on hair-raisingly narrow roads, where we were fortunate to come across slightly wider sections as we encountered a couple of vehicles coming from the opposite direction. This route offered a different view of thickly treed ridges and canyons. 

As we approached another hairpin turn, we were treated to this lovely little gully. Of course, we had to stop to explore it. A tiny streamlet ran down the tight ravine, the rocks in its bed stained a soothing, earthy red brown. The water burbling over the rocks looked gold in the sun, bronze in the shade. The vegetation and immense boulders (how did they get there?) were beautifully backlit by the afternoon sun.

Columbine!

 

Columbine

Acrylic on canvas
16” x 20”

We had a spectacular display of Columbine last spring. The pale lavender and white flowers were especially beautiful. There is something magical about these intricate and delicate blossoms bobbing in the breeze. I go out to look at them every morning.

In addition to these, there were yellow and creamy white blossoms too. The white flowers were the biggest and most vigorous, so after the blossoms were spent, I carefully gathered the seeds to scatter in the garden bed. This year all three varieties, plus a deep purple with yellow centers have appeared.

As much as I love Columbine, the deer love them more. The day after I took the photo that I used for this painting, the deer discovered them and ate every last blossom.

Surprisingly, this year the deer have left them alone. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they overlook them this year.

Early Snow at Bandelier

 
Early Snow at Bandelier

Acrylic on Reclaimed Cabinet Door
15” x 12”

We planned a fall trip to Santa Fe and as usual, October gave us a surprise snowfall. We never curse storms, because water is a precious gift here in the southwest.

We left a few days after the storm. The highway was clear and the sky a deep blue. A perfect fall day. We wanted to take a circuitous route we’d never explored through a section of New Mexico’s Santa Fe National Forest that would take us to Valles Caldera National Preserve and ultimately, to Bandelier National Monument.

In between our turnoff from highway 550 and Valles Caldera was a section of dirt road over a pass that still held a good amount of snow and in the sunny spots, slimy mud. It appeared the storm had dumped much more snow southeast of Durango.

Despite the mud and snow slowing us down and making for a little excitement, it was a beautiful drive, and we encountered only a few cowboys and a truck or two along the way. Valles Caldera was spectacular!

We arrived at Bandelier to find this lovely view along the only trail that wasn’t closed due to ice and snow. It’s quite a place and we hope to go back to explore it sometime after the heat of summer has waned and before winter gives us a snowstorm.

Late Summer at Spud Lake

 

Late Summer at Spud Lake
12” x 18
Watercolor

Late last summer we got up with the birds so we could beat the heat for a short hike to Spud Lake. It’s one of our favorites, though the road out to the trailhead is a riot of rocks that requires a high tolerance for bumps.

The trail starts at a scenic pond and winds its way gently upward through aspens, then pine and fir. Each time we hike to the lake, it’s a different experience. The aspens are a canopy of spring green and as the seasons turn, they send cotton balls of seeds into the air that settle in thick and fluffy white clumps on the forest floor. As we move toward fall, their leaves turn wildly brilliant gold with hints of orange, dramatically contrasting against the evergreens.

The views are spectacular as you rise through the forest. And if you’re lucky, you might see a resident of the beaver ponds that lie along the way. There’s one last hill to climb before you arrive at the lake, and suddenly you’re treated to a deep blue mirror of the sky, rocky ridges, and trees that ring the water. The surface is nearly always smooth as glass, occasionally rippled by a fish kissing the underside of the surface.

Spud is not a big lake, but it gets high marks for its beauty! Its official name is Potato Lake, after the large tater-like mountain that rises on the west side. But locals fondly call it by its nickname. It’s always worth the bumpy ride to hike to this jewel of a lake one more time.

InSpire-ation

 

InSpire-ation

16” x 20”
Watercolor

In October we took a quick trip to Santa Fe for my birthday to look at art. We probably walked a hundred miles and saw plenty of art (some good, some not so good). It was awesome! As we wandered the galleries along Canyon Road, we came across L’Ecole Des Beaux Arts, a studio that sells beautiful handmade watercolors.

It was love at first sight. It was all I could do to limit myself to just a few colors. Clint patiently waited while I took forever to decide on what to buy. Had I recently won the lottery I would have bought at least one of everything.

I couldn’t wait to get home and try out my new colors—and on the way home, I found inspiration along highway 84. This road is one of my favorites. From Tierra Amarilla to Abiquiu, it is a visual delight; and when the sun is low in the sky, it’s breathtaking.

I can’t tell you the name of this feature, however I always seem to snap a photo of it as we near the end of a long, spectacular valley filled with amazing geological features and rocks of every color of the rainbow.

I used a couple of wonderful earthy browns, the luscious pale purple, and a yummy metallic copper from L’Ecole Des Beaux Arts in this piece. I can’t wait to go back and pick up a few more colors!