A wonderful visit with Lisa Solomon! I loved meeting her, and could write a whole post about it.
Gathering color from the garden.
Cleaning up the edges of these canvases, prepping them for a gallery.
Dinner makings, from the garden.
Oil based primer, for some big canvases.
Lots of work to look forward to!
Last week I got film back from our trip. I hadn't shot film in a while so I was pleased that every frame turned out. My very favorite is the one of Matt. That afternoon we were at Tsankawi sitting in the shade of a rock eating a picnic lunch of hummus, pita, carrots, chocolate peanut butter bars, soynuts, and veggie jerky and I quickly looked up and snapped him taking a swig of water. At the time I thought it probably wouldn't be like I wanted, but I like it alot. Now that I have all the pictures, I will make us a book of our trip. For now though, I need to tackle the downstairs. It's trashed. Over the weekend we began reorganizing it. I am hoping there's a bunch of stuff I can get rid of, like old drawings from grad school. It's funny that some of my work I feel an attachment to, while others I seriously don't mind if I burn, tear up, or paint over. I need to make space to work on some 5 foot canvases!
A few summer favorites: reading My Berlin Kitchen, sipping ginger ale made from this ginger syrup recipe, and bright, overflowing bouquets of cosmos, African daisies, sunflowers, and zinnias from the garden.
From February Seventeenth, oil on canvas, 24 in. x 36 in., 2014
This painting truly underwent major changes throughout it's process, as you can see in the sequence photos below. There were times I didn't know what was going on, I would think I had it figured out then it would change, and I'd look at it wondering what in the world?! There were sections that were working but overall it wasn't. So I'd sacrifice the whole thing by painting over it; that happened several times. Then I'd see things in it that I didn't want, like cartoon characters, and I'd have to paint over them.
I really like the color palette, the black lines, and the collections of brush marks. I like the sense that I'm looking at something from above but also from inside. It is perhaps my current favorite of the new canvases and was worth all the effort and time. Right now we have it hanging in our house, though it is available (as are my other new canvases here and here.) Please email me with your inquiries!
Sequence: top to bottom & left to right.
Sketchbook entry from 6.17
Our supper plates this week have been full of produce from our summer garden. We are spoiled with veggies. Overgrown sugar snaps were shelled, the peas boiled and mashed, onions sautéed and tossed with the mashed peas, one egg added, mixed, then formed into croquettes (or cookies as we call them) and fried in a thin layer of butter. Top with a dollop of sriracha mayo. Side that with kohlrabi and beet slaw, pan roasted new potatoes with rosemary, and the first handful of green beans. Good good good. Last night we sautéed broccoli and sugar snaps, so tender, green, and delicious.
Soon I want to make this chocolate-beet cake.
Tend is in full force with some new guests this year.
We went to Taos a couple weeks ago. Barely have I begun to go through the photos I took. I started looking through the pictures last week but missed Taos enough that I had to stop. These images are about as far as I've gotten and they're just a few from the first day.
We hiked every day, stood on the Rio Grande Gorge bridge and looked down into the canyon, drove dusty roads on meandering adventures, saw the Earthships; visited the Taos Pueblo and spoke with several artists there; drove the Enchanted Circle and hiked in Red River; hiked an old stagecoach trail down into the gorge and soaked in hot springs by the river; went to Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch and hiked up to Chimney Rock, looked down from the top to see what I think was Georgia O'Keeffee's house; went to Bandelier and saw ruins, hiked ancient footpaths at Tsankawi (which was my favorite) and listened to the sounds of our own footsteps in the worn rock, saw cliff-dwellings with ceilings still blackened from their fires, petroglyphs, and many pottery shards with painted patterns. On the trails we saw a number of flowers and cacti blooming, including one orchid in Red River, Indian Paintbrush, and others we haven't identified. Most days when we were traveling out of town to surrounding areas and hikes, we packed the cooler with lots of water and a picnic lunch. When we ate out, our favorite restaurants were Orlando's, La Cueva, and Love Apple. We walked about Taos, poked in a few shops and galleries, visited the Harwood Museum of Art which featured great regional art, enjoyed talking with Estefan at El Rincon Trading Post, who is the third generation owner of the shop. That is a great place to stop. Our apartment was right downtown, with a large balcony and west facing view. The sunsets were striking and we enjoyed sitting out there of a morning and looking north to the mountains. Waking up to a view, I loved it. Our week was full. It didn't speed by like I feared it would. We absorbed much, were dusty and sun-kissed at the end of each day, and thankful for hats and sunglasses. It was a fantastic trip and we were very glad to get away.
To sum up, I shared these thoughts with a friend:
I like the dusty, red earth. The sweetness of sage so present you can smell it through your car. Each bit of life spotted is a surprise. A lizard. A blooming cactus. Indian paintbrush. The air is light, you sometimes have to remember to breathe. Intensely blue skies. I see why painters land here. I see why they paint the sage, and the sunsets, and the adobe buildings.
