Paintings of landscapes primarily from the Southwest.
Sun Infused Santa Ritas after the Storm
Title
Sun Infused Santa Ritas after the Storm
Size
9x12
Price
gift
A dramatic scene after a late winter snow storm. Gift to my niece.
Sun Infused Santa Ritas after the Storm
Aspen Fusion
Title
Aspen Fusion
Size
9x12 (framed 13x16)
Price
gift
From my imagination but only after studying my Aspens and the aspens up at the Santa Fe Ski Slope. See Aspen paintings - studio and plein air. Palette Knife only. The painting seems to illustrate a type of fusion of the sun with the aspens.
Aspen Fusion
Ocotillo Van Gogh
Title
Ocotillo Van Gogh
Size
8x10 (12x16 framed)
Price
gift
Thinking of Van Gogh while painting.....
Now a the home of Jane Quandt.
Ocotillo Van Gogh
Luminous Lands IV 8x16 Sold 2024
Title
Luminous Lands IV 8x16 Sold 2024
Size
8x16
Price
Light illuminates the lands of New Mexico..The original title of this painting was "On Golden Path" to emphasize how the golden path leads the eye around the painting. The trees were made intentionally dark to put the mountains into the distance, illustrating the effect of atmospheric perspective.
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery - (505) 660-6382: www.karenwrayfineart.com. Capturing the texture and the chroma of the cliffs of New Mexico. Tools used: squeegee, painters' trowel, Catalyst wedge, palette knives and paint brushes.
Cliff Abstraction 18x24
Black Mesa 12x16
Title
Black Mesa 12x16
Size
12x16
Price
$700
"En plein air" over two days in July 2023 and Feb 2024 at the White Rocks Overlook Park. The Black Mesa in the San Ildefonso Pueblo stands out when looking out toward the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range. Link to armature superimposed on the painting =>
Black Mesa 12x16
Land Abstraction II sold 2023
Title
Land Abstraction II sold 2023
Size
8x16 Aspect Ratio 2:1
Price
$550
Sold at the Fuller Lodge Art Gallery. Abstracting the landscape of New Mexico.
Dynamic Symmetry Armature with (dotted) rabatment lines, that in the case of a 2:1 (Root 4:1) aspect ratio do cut the painting in half. We like the way the main diagonal from the upper left touches the top of the cliff. The middle cliff accidentally lies at the center line; this might make the painting too centered. But we liked the painting as is and didn’t want to make any changes. It does seem as if there are two focal point: the two cliffs just above and to the left of the center of the painting. Directional lines lead the viewer around the painting up and down the hills and cliffs. We think that the viewer can find a place to rest in the skies.
Sold 6/30/2021 at the Marigold Art Gallery, www.marigoldarts.com. Sunflowers in Santa Fe. Golden rectangle proportion.
High Desert Sunflowers (sold 2021)
Sangres. (Sold 2019)
Title
Sangres. (Sold 2019)
Size
10x16 (framed - 14x20)
Price
550
Water-mixable oils (Cobra) with a thin wash at beginning. Brush and Palette knife used throughout. View of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Santa Fe (abstract). As the name indicates they blush red at sunset (blood of christ). Sold Oct 19, 2019 at the Marigold Arts Gallery on Canyon Road, http://www.marigoldarts.com.
Sangres. (Sold 2019)
Golden Sangres Aspens (sold 2018)
Title
Golden Sangres Aspens (sold 2018)
Size
6x12
Price
400
Water-mixable oil with palette knife. New direction. Sold at the Marigold Arts Gallery, July 22, 2018 to a couple in Arizona (along with Ghost Ranch Mesa Sunset Small 2)..
Almost immediately as one drives on Monastery Road the cliffs to the right draw the artist and demand to be painted. Palette knife only. Sold Oct 2018.
Chama Cliffs Aglow (sold 2018)
Ghost Ranch Shadows (sold 2018)
Title
Ghost Ranch Shadows (sold 2018)
Size
8x16
Price
$500
"en plein air" facing the cliffs above Georgia's Ghost Ranch House, when the sun creates its strongest shadows. Due to my recovering knee I stayed by the car on the road. Sold at the Marigold Arts gallery Mar 2 2018.
Ghost Ranch Shadows (sold 2018)
Cliffs of New Mexico 12x16
Title
Cliffs of New Mexico 12x16
Size
12x16
Price
$700
The cliffs of New Mexico continue to astound one.
Cliffs of New Mexico 12x16
Los Alamos Hills Impression 10x16
Title
Los Alamos Hills Impression 10x16
Size
10x16
Price
$600
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery: - (505) 660-6382 www.karenwrayfineart.com. Continuing the series of the hills and cliffs of New Mexico.
Los Alamos Hills Impression 10x16
Spring at Ghost Ranch 10x16
Title
Spring at Ghost Ranch 10x16
Size
10x16
Price
$600
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery - (505) 660-6382 : www.karenwrayfineart.com.
En plein air. The views of the cliffs around Ghost Ranch are amazing. It's hard to decide what to paint. For this view, I liked the feeling of the sun raking over the nearby hillside.
Spring at Ghost Ranch 10x16
Georgia's Towering Cliff 14x11
Title
Georgia's Towering Cliff 14x11
Size
14x11
Price
$600
The clouds opened up on Georgia's cliff while hiking in her back yard.
Georgia's Towering Cliff 14x11
Storm Coming (PAPNM 2020)
Title
Storm Coming (PAPNM 2020)
Size
12x9
Price
400
Exhibited at The Wilder Nightingale Gallery in Taos: July 17-Aug17. www.wnightingale.com. sponsored by the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico. I enjoyed capturing the feeling of the New Mexican clouds during monsoon season. As I painted I let the watercolor take shape, moving and blending as is it desires. - with a little help tilting the paper. Years ago I began painting using watercolors, my first love. In the intervening years I have concentrated more on oil paints, the medium of masters. Oil paint is more forgiving and it’s easier to achieve rich colors. But watercolor still calls to me. And here’s one of my first results after these many years. I will do more watercolor!!! And will have it with me whenever I travel or venture out onto distant paths.
Storm Coming (PAPNM 2020)
Chromatic Lands I 8x10
Title
Chromatic Lands I 8x10
Size
8x10
Price
$450
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery - (505) 660-6382 : www.karenwrayfineart.com. In this painting, the darker ‘path’ is an s-shape leading to the cliff in the distance. This is a well- known device to lead the viewer’s eye to a focal point. Chromatic Lands I is a favorite painting due to its range of colors and its textures.
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery - (505) 660-6382 : www.karenwrayfineart.com. Part of a series to capture the brilliant chroma of the fall in the Mountains of New Mexico.
I did not use an armature when designing this painting; Iwere concentrating on the curves of the hills and of course the use of chroma. One could find points in the picture plain that when joined would create lines and curves following the armature. Note that the top ridge seems to go through or close to the "eyes"
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery - (505) 660-6382 : www.karenwrayfineart.com. The aspens above Santa Fe are glorious during the fall and are part of my continuing series to
capture fall color. One of the most important points is for the viewer's eye to travel around the painting. The painting encourages the viewer to follow the foreground tree line up to the upper right clouds and then, follow down and around the painting.
BREAK-THROUGH new painting. Juried into the 2024 New Mexico Masterworks Exhibit: Mar 22-Apr 14. Abstracting the land in New Mexico:
Land Abstraction I had its origin in another painting; I wasn’t happy with it so I used a squeegee to restate straight edges, applying dappled color while doing so. I liked the result and retitled the painting to incorporate “abstract”. Visit my blog post on the development details of this painting: Anatomy of Land Abstraction I .
"En plein air" at dawn on the road to Los Alamos. I've enjoyed painting the cliffs at many times of day, either "en plein air" or in the studio. My landscaped abstractions are often based on this or similar scenes.
First phase of the painting: flat color blocks, with brighter colors in the foreground. Then the colors were modified with lighter or grayer colors to show form. The overall intent was to show how light illuminates the southwest as if the sun is infusing the land with its light and power. The eternal question to ask: is the viewer’s eye drawn around the painting. Another question to ask is: is there a resting point? The sky is a good restful area to pause for a few moments.
Luminous Lands I 12x19
Luminous Lands VI
Title
Luminous Lands VI
Size
11x14
Price
$600
Near Root PHI proportions (1.270...:1)From a plein air trip up Sabino Canyon in Tucson.We missed the tram so we trekked up the road, crossing over rivers that were overflowing onto the road/path.
Luminous Lands VI
Luminous Lands VI - Northern Lights
Title
Luminous Lands VI - Northern Lights
Size
15x24
Price
$1000
This painting of the Taos Gorge Overlook anticipated the recent sightings of the Northern Lights in the New Mexican Skies. The intent at the time of the painting was to place the main focal point near the eye of the golden spiral at the upper right where the brightest part of the sky meets the mountain.
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery: - (505) 660-6382 www.karenwrayfineart.com. Continued series with more abstract landscapes. Painted from photographs and smaller on-location studies of the dramatic cliffs of Los Alamos. Tools used include a squeegee (straight edge), brushes, palette knife and wedge to mark the lines during the painting process. Yes, this is the home of the Atomic Bomb from WWII but it's also the home of advanced research in Fusion, a promising source of soloar powered electricity.
En plein air in Borrego Springs, Ca.. The shadows were remarkable. Visit the Blog Post: here
for a detailed analysis of this painting. The dramatic shape of the main shadow on the upper right dictated that it be the main focal point.
Natural geological formations result in patterns that attract the viewer. These striation patterns appear throughout the cliffs around Abiquiu, Ghost Ranch and the Chama River in northern New Mexico, forming a natural landmark on a par with the most spectacular of the world.
The growth of trees is so intriguing, which makes them natural candidates for painting. Capturing the feeling and sound of the wind as it moves through the trees is part of the joy of plein air painting.
Available at the Karen Wray Gallery - (505) 660-6382: www.karenwrayfineart.com. Full disclosure: I utilized chat gpt to help with the wording here. "Upon traversing Monastery Road, the commanding presence of the yellow cliffs on the right beckons the artist's gaze, evoking an irresistible urge to capture their essence upon canvas. Utilizing near golden mean dimensions for the painting, I orchestrated a composition designed to guide the viewer's eye along a journey across the canvas, following the subtle curvature of the implied golden spiral. Each brushstroke was meticulously placed to accentuate points of interest, with a deliberate emphasis on the point of sharpest contrast near the right-most dominant cliff, ensuring a captivating visual experience that resonates with the discerning collector".
ITaos Gorge is one of New Mexico's iconic landmarks. The inspiration for this series of paintings came from a plein air piece painted during a storm. The lighting was unusual, leading to many possibilities for capturing this scene.
Exhibited in the National Juried Members' Show for the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico. at the Legends of the West Gallery in Santa Fe, Sept 2 - 16, 2023. Plein air near my home with the Santa Fe Pleinarians. Title changed and slight modifications made.
Donated 2019 LCCF. To be offered at the annual Las Campanas Community Fund Silent Auction on June 29, 2019. The Chama River Canyon Wilderness in Northern New Mexico near Ghost Ranch, made famous by Georgia O’Keeffe, is one of the most beautiful scenic areas of the state. This wilderness area calls me again and again to paint in order to capture its timeless message of beauty and existence. The underlying shapes, patterns and rhythms are an endless mystery to be explored in different ways.
Chama Canyon Colores (2019 LCCF)
Blowin' in the Wind (Honorable Mention-Taos PAPNM 2020) GIFT
Title
Blowin' in the Wind (Honorable Mention-Taos PAPNM 2020) GIFT
Size
8x10 (framed 13x15)
Price
gift
Honorable Mention Award at the 2020 Taos Plein Air ecnt sponsored by the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico and the Wilder Nighingale Gallery in Taos, NM. Listen to the Judge's remarks at: https://www.papnm.org/2020-Taos-Plein-Air-Historic-Studios-Award-Commentaries. "en plain air" Gift to my son and family for Xmas 2021. Remarks from the transcript of the judge Lynn Boyer:
“Full of energy.. Engaging, vibrant, melodic. Swept around in it.
Not just a painting of a tree. I feel the movement of the tree as the wind whips it around.
Unique painting.”
Sadly, Lynn passed away last year of a heart attack at a young age. The world is lessened by her absence.
Blowin' in the Wind (Honorable Mention-Taos PAPNM 2020) GIFT