Animas Relic

 

Animas Relic

13" x 13"
Acrylic on a Reclaimed Cabinet Door 

This old cottonwood caught my eye, nearly a skeleton with just a few leaves that’s been hanging in there along the river for who knows how long. Someday, a big wind will topple it into the river; and, if we ever have a big winter again, maybe the snowmelt will carry it away. Or perhaps as it falls, it will nestle into the river and create a sheltered pool for the river critters.

This piece is from a plein air painting session at Dallabetta Park along the Animas River in Durango. It was a glorious day, and I had a wonderful spot in the shade. It’s a really lovely place to paint. In the fall, the vegetation across the river turns to brilliant shades of yellow and gold that’s mirrored in the river, making for quite a show. 

Riverside at La Boca

 

 

Riverside at La Boca

Approximately 15" x 12"

 Acrylic on Reclaimed Cabinet Door

Late fall, one cool Saturday morning I’m traveling down a road I’ve never taken before. Carefully, I watch the odometer to be sure I don’t miss the turn off to my destination. Point four, point five, point…there it is—exactly six tenths! Clearly marked with a modest sign on wooden posts over the entrance: La Boca Ranch.

The narrow track is thickly flanked by ancient cottonwoods gleaming yellow and gold in the early morning sun. I stop to marvel at a massive tree trunk laying by the side of the road, surrounded by shattered branches, a victim of the season’s winds.

Soon I see structures in the distance, and I approach a house where a woman is standing by a car in the driveway. The house is surrounded by some of the biggest cottonwood trees I have ever seen.

 “Is this the meeting place for the plein air group?” I ask. She nods and I park. It is 28 degrees when I step out of the car. It feels even colder in the shade and I wonder whether anyone else will show up and brave the cool temps.

I learned her name is Gayle and that the ranch has belonged to her family for generations.

“There might be a nice place to paint down by the river,” she said, gesturing down the road. As we walk, she tells me about the property.

The ranch used to be a stop on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad route. The La Boca Stop had a small general store, post office, and schoolhouse that served the surrounding residents. The structures still stand and are now occupied by renters.

As we round a curve in the road, a bridge over the Los Pinos River comes into view. Now a bridge for vehicles, it originally served as a railroad bridge. Sitting near the border of Colorado and New Mexico, it was considered a major crossing for the rail line.

The original bridge was built in 1881 and refurbished in 2020 by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. The Tribe owns the bridge, which provides access to a cemetery and homes on the other side of the river. The scene in this painting is just below the bridge.

It was a beautiful, interesting, and historic place to paint!

Maggie's Rock

 

Maggie’s Rock

15" x 12"

Acrylic on Reclaimed Cabinet Door

 

West of Durango, about 40 minutes, Cherry Creek Road travels a stunning green valley dotted with cottonwoods, pines, and cattle. Of the many picturesque choices along the road, the butte to the east caught my eye.

It’s kind of funny how plein air paintings tend to come with a weather story. This piece is no exception. This was a two-part painting. The first time my painting buddy and I went out, we were driven back to our cars by a bitingly cold wind carrying snow from the ridge behind us. I barely blocked in the basic components of the landscape before I gave in, my hands clumsy from the cold. A month later, we gave it another try and the weather cooperated, allowing me to finish the piece.

On that second day, we hadn’t been painting long when an SUV pulled up and the driver called out, “How wonderful to see artists out here! I see you are painting Maggie’s Rock”. I went over to the car, and she went on to tell me that Maggie’s Rock was on land owned by Louie L’Amour. “Wow," I responded, thinking, hmmm, that’s interesting, but he’s dead and I didn’t think he had ever owned property in the area—though—fun fact—he wrote many of his novels in a room in Durango's Strater Hotel. We talked for a bit and then she wished us well and drove off.

A little later, another driver came down the road and stopped to see what we were doing. “I see you’re painting Maggie’s Rock,” she said, and I told her another person had informed me of that.

“The lady I talked to earlier told me that Louie L’ Amour owns that property,” I said, wanting to confirm that bit of information.

“No,” she replied, “the Ute Tribe owns that land. The caretaker’s name is Louie…you see him all the time driving around in his pickup truck.”

Her family had owned property in the valley for generations, so I concluded she had a better idea of the area’s history.

She went on to say that it’s called Maggie’s Rock because a long time ago someone named Maggie fell off the rock and died. It reminded me of how the Navajo people name places for notable events, such as “Where Two Fell Off” in Canyon de Chelly.

We talked for a bit more before she headed on her way and I went back to my painting.

This piece is painted on the center panel of a cabinet door, which has a “built-in” frame. I started with the center panel painted a rusty-red color, which you can see peeking through in various places in the painting.

Animas Anabranch

Animas Anabranch

15” x 10”
Watercolor

I found this lovely spot where a branch of the Animas River departs from the main channel in a location you might not expect—behind the museum in Farmington, New Mexico about an hour south of home. The trees had yet to show their leaves this early spring day, however the muted colors and grace of the bare cottonwoods caught my eye.

When I left home it was 34 degrees, so I had layered up to be ready for a cool and windy painting session along the Animas River.

But as usual, spring had a surprise up its sleeve, thumbing its nose at the weather report and warming up well beyond the day’s prediction, which foretold rain at noon. By the time my painting session came to a close, it was 78 degrees and I was overdressed!

Despite that, it was a gorgeous wind-free day. I drove into the rain on the way home.

Chokecherry Canyon

 Chokecherry Canyon
12” x 12”
Acrylic on Canvas

I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than being outside and painting. While you may have to contend with wind, rain, snow, or heat—wind is the worst—there is something really satisfying about capturing a landscape while you are immersed in it.

When I’m along a lake or stream, I like to use water from those sources as my painting water to incorporate the place into my piece. Sometimes when it’s windy, I accidentally incorporate local soil or rocks into a painting. 😊

I recently attended a “paint out” with a regional group of plein air painters. I’ve enjoyed discovering new places to paint and meeting other artists. The group spreads out in a location and paints for about 3 hours and then comes together for a critique. It’s been a good exercise in working quickly to capture the essence of a site. Of course, using a small canvas helps with that effort.

Chokecherry Canyon was a nice surprise. It’s an ATV recreation area and luckily, there were no ATVs buzzing down the canyon the day we were there. Filled with interesting rock formations and hoo doos, it provided plenty of great spots to set up our gear. We had clear blue skies and ideal weather, which though unseasonably warm was appreciated by all. And, the wind didn’t come up until it was about quitting time.

Plein Air II

Weber Lake
6” x 6”
Acrylic on Canvas

I met a painting buddy at a plein air event, and she took me out to this great spot just outside of Mancos, Colorado. We set up our gear to paint on property owned by friends of hers near Rimrock Outfitters. I felt lucky to have met someone who had permission to paint in such a gorgeous valley!

Behind us, the La Plata Mountains; to the north, the dramatic Rimrocks, and to the west, the serenity of Weber Lake. It was full-on fire season, with several blazes marking the sky with ribbons of red brown. But early that morning, the smoke was high and distant, giving us a reprieve from the dense smoke that had invaded the Four Corners for several days.

The lake was sapphire in the sun, rimmed with pines. As we happily painted, a string of riders rode west to explore the San Juan Mountains. We were still there when they later made their way back to the stable.

We both were determined to “loosen up” as we painted (a constant challenge for many artists). Our aim was to lay down the paint quickly and intuitively. The rimrock ridge caught my attention, so I started with that. Again, it turned out to be my warm-up painting. It’s still sitting in my studio, likely to be painted over with something new.

I then turned to the lake. By then, it was getting a bit toasty, the ice in my water bottle was long gone, leaving the contents bathwater warm. My painting partner was starting to get sunburned. I knew we wouldn’t be painting too much longer. It was just the motivation I needed to work quickly and loosely. Also, working on a very small canvas helped! This painting was about 90% finished when we both decided we’d had enough sun and heat for the day. I later added the finishing touches in my studio.