2008 Event Photos
Trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sarah and I traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico in March to attend the Nomadas Del Arte show held at Sage Creek Gallery. I had two paintings in the show, and we planned to do some plein air painting afterward.
Sage Creek Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Visitors in the gallery.
Farm View, one of my paintings in the show.
The day after the show opened, a few of us enjoyed painting some snow scenes just outside Santa Fe.
Here's Dena Kirk painting one of her masterpieces.
And here's Mark Coulter. Looks like he knows what he's doing!
Trip to the Northwest
In May, Sarah and I took a long road trip to spend some time visiting parts of Washington and Oregon. First, we visited Seattle where I took some paintings to Howard/Mandville Gallery.
The gallery is very close to this great view of Lake Washington where I decided to do some painting.
This is my finished painting, On the Lake.
The Space Needle.
The atmosphere in Seattle creates some beautiful views.
Here's Sarah enjoying a market in Seattle.
We also spent some time in Porland, Oregon, for the college graduation of one of Sarah's sisters. This is a view at her college, Lewis and Clark.
We spent a few days in Cannon Beach, Oregon as well. It wasn't very warm, but it was beautiful.
A view of Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach.
Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters' National Show
In July, we traveled to Winter Park, Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters National Show.
When we arrived in Winter Park, the first thing on our agenda was my outdoor figurative painting workshop (Sarah was our model). The first morning of the workshop, we posed Sarah on the porch of a historical museum outside Winter Park. After lunch it began to rain, so we decided to paint under the shelter of the large tent nearby where many of the RMPAP events would take place later in the week.
After about an hour or so, a sudden flash of lightning struck one of the tent poles (about 10 or 15 feet away from us as we were painting inside)! Needless to say, everyone jumped and we all decided to spend a little time in our cars (which seemed safer somehow). The plywood base of one of the tent poles was blown apart by the lightning strike.
A piece of plywood also got lodged in the roof of the tent!
More scattered debris from the lightning strike ended up on many of the tables set up in the tent. A couple of the ladies in the workshop got a bit of a shock since they happened to be in contact with some of the metal chairs. We were glad we were all protected from any serious harm.
Day two of the workshop started off a bit foggy. I was just glad all the students came back to the workshop after the lightning incident! Maybe I should have everyone sign a waiver for my next workshop....
The sun eventually came out and we were able to paint Sarah next to a nearby pond.
After the workshop was over, I managed to paint five plein air paintings in the two remaining days before the turn-in deadline for the RMPAP show that would open the following weekend. Sarah even did some painting. This spot is near Granby, CO.
Valley at Dusk, one of my paintings for the show.
Another nice view of the Granby, CO area.
Windswept, another of my paintings for the show.
After the opening of the RMPAP show, all of the artists prepared for the "quick draw" which took place the next day. This is Dave Santillanes working hard to finish his painting in the two-hour time period.
Others at the quick draw. (About 40 artists participated.)
Here I am in my "drawing / painting / getting-my-legs-sunburned" stance. One of the other artists, John Taft, arranged for his daughters to pose for us during the quick draw. (At least for the few of us artists crazy enough to attempt to complete a double portrait in two hours!)
John Taft on the left, Teresa Vito on the right and, of course, our two lovely models. (And now, only too late, I notice the bonus model sitting on the distant rock. Maybe he'll still be there for next year's event....)
Must......draw.......faster....... Instead of painting, I decided to do a charcoal drawing for the quick draw this year.
My finished drawing.
After the two hours of the quick draw had passed, all of the artists framed our artwork for a silent auction -- always a popular event with collectors. (And yes, it took place in the lightning tent!)
Pingree Park, Colorado
In September, we visited our artist friend Dave Santillanes in Pingree Park, Colorado (the mountain campus of Colorado State University). Dave was the artist-in-residence there and invited us to come paint with him for a few days.
Sarah even enjoyed some painting on this trip.
We had some foggy weather one morning.
That's Dave on the left, and me trying to capture some of those atmospheric effects with our cameras.
Here I am at the easel again painting a beautiful mountain meadow.
The finished painting.
The Art of Living Show at Rich Designs Gallery
In September, we attended the annual Art of Living Show to benefit Pikes Peak Hospice. It was held at The Gallery at Rich Designs in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The event opened with a wonderful banquet outside the gallery.
Visitors enjoying the artwork. That's artist Chris Alvarez and his wife Martha on the right.
Another view of visitors in the gallery.
Whispering Breeze, one of my paintings in the show.