What a treat to use blues and greens I rarely get to use. This scene of water and boats is unusual for me, but so much fun to paint. I spotted this scene on a trip to Catalina Island this summer.
It seems like a contradiction to have palm-like plants growing where is snows, but these three yucca plants are just around the corner. I've been eyeing them for a painting for quite a while and finally got around to it!
This view is from my early morning drive along the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I contemplated this painting for months, trying to figure out whether the river or the lone rock should take center stage. A nice problem to have. The Grand Canyon is so rich in subjects!
For this painting, I broke my rule of not painting a place where I haven't stood. From a borrowed photo that I couldn't resist, came this painting of a cafe/market scene from Interlaken, Switzerland. I was in Switzerland 14 years ago and will be there again next week, so maybe the self-imposed rule is only partially broken. The brilliant yellow umbrellas just had to be painted though!
This is the image I had in my mind when I returned to the Grand Canyon this spring. It was just a matter of finding a spot that matched my imagination and getting there early enough in the morning to capture it. I loved the challenge of painting the distant canyon in combination with the very close chunk of yellow rock.
This painting I started as a demo piece for the Pastel Society of New Mexico. I started it before the demo and had to hold myself back from completing it so I could show the audience how I can create dust and clouds without disturbing lower layers of pastel. The scene is of a mule train coming up a trail in the Grand Canyon when I was hiking out this spring. We had to squeeze against the rocky cliff rather than the edge of the trail just in case a mule bumped us.
This image is the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near Phantom Ranch. It was late in the day when the air temperatures finally dipped into the low 100s!! Any water was a welcome reprieve.
This painting is much larger than the small ones I've been posting, but it's the first painting from a very special trip into the Grand Canyon. I was lucky enough to be able to hike with a group last month for three days. On the way out, we took the Bright Angel trail. Between huffing and puffing, I was able to snap off some photos that will inspire paintings for months, including this one!
This scene is from an isolated road west and north of Albuquerque. I often think that an impressive rock like this would be a destination for sightseers if it were the only one like it for miles around. But here, it's just the 'average' scenery.
This image was from a trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado from several years ago. Both the sky and the water are blended pastel (which feels like finger painting for grownups)!
There is a beautiful, new commuter train that goes between Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Between the two cities, there are a series of pueblos with wide open spaces. This image is looking east from the train as the sun sunk low in the west.
Although I pursued wildlife science and environmental communication as a career, creating art has been a way for me to capture the natural places I love.
Upon moving to Albuquerque in 2001, I quickly became infatuated with the wide open spaces and clear sunlight and eventually switched to art full-time. With soft pastels, I am able to capture the rich colors and dramatic lighting that I find in the New Mexican landscape.
I hope my paintings will not just be a record of beautiful places, but an expression of the affection I have for these special areas. By sharing the beauty of the outdoors, I hope to inspire others to appreciate the importance of nature...whether it’s a sweeping wilderness or a special corner of a backyard.