painting demonstration, photo courtesy of Gilcrease Musuem
It has been over two months since my last log and more miles travelled--- Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona, and another visit farther north to the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. My last solo visit to this place was almost 20 years ago before I embarked on a 1000 mile bike trip through Great Britain. To get in shape for the big trip, I did some training at the monastery in the dust and under the hot sun. What I didn’t know is that 5 years later I would discover my love of painting and then move down to New Mexico and eventually etch out a life of an artist in Santa Fe. This was not until after more than a enough moves around the northern part of the state.
Back to present day, earlier this month, my sojourn east to Oklahoma recently took me to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa where I was asked to do a painting demonstration on the eve of the annual Collector's Reserve fundraising show. Gilcrease is definitely one of my favorite museums. Not only housing great art, it is located on some beautiful 475 acres at the foot of the Osage hills. I was honored. It was my first museum demonstration and certainly a highlight this year. My next log will feature an outline of the talk I gave during my demonstration about my painting philosophy and technique.
Painting demonstration surrounded by large reproductions of the Masters, photo courtesy of Gilcrease Museum
Since my last show in Santa Fe, I have begun a new series of paintings focusing on the prominence of light I play with in my pieces. I have also revisited the softer and subtle paintings of the Bosque Del Apache, a bird refuge and wetlands near Socorro, NM, another place of inspiration for me. Here is “Bosque, Final Hour” which I completed in October.
As the temperatures turn colder and the fall colors fade and fall from their tree homes to the ground to be recycled again for next season, I continue to seek new images to paint. I am thankful I have the space and time and resources to do so. It is a blessing and with that comes the challenge to stay true to my vision as an artist and perhaps, as is my hope, to gives others a feeling of respite from the everyday grind.