From Ghost Ranch, NM to Snow in Virginia

It was sad to leave Ghost Ranch, in Abiquiu, NM. It was mostly sad because a big nor'easter was blowing through the mid Atlantic, leaving a wet sloppy snow in Virginia, along with power failures at my house.

Thankfully, I arrived home safely and I wish everyone along the Mid Atlantic and the Northeast well, as this bad storm barrels along the coast, leaving many power outages along the way.

I hope that these pictures will leave you feeling warm.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Ghost Ranch, I highly recommend it. What a gorgeous location with so many possibilities for the painter.

Last Class at Ghost Ranch

Today is the last day of my class. Everyone put their paintings up on screens and the outcome of this week's work is amazing. Great, great work, everyone! The class was full of interesting folks from all over the country. I immensely enjoyed meeting everyone.

After class, I went hiking towards Box Canyon to find the pond. I wanted to get pictures of the mountain reflected in water.

Here is another painting to share with you, "Morning Shadows," as well as pictures from my hike.

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, Tuesday

My workshop is going splendidly. Everyone in class seems to be moving along quickly and they've all begun painting the landscape.

Today, I went on a tour of the area where Georgia O'Keeffe lived, and we saw her home and many of the areas where she drove her car, which she had customized into a studio on wheels, and painted.

If I thought the landscape on the public part of the ranch was strange, then today I discovered that the private areas where O'Keeffe painted were even more imaginative: more twisted forms, layers of different colored rock, odd columns and holes and more contorted shapes.

I'm posting some pictures from the landscape tour, as well as my first completed painting of the scene outside of the art center, where I'm teaching.

New Mexico

The Cottonwood trees are a brilliant gold. I can see why Georgia O'Keeffe was mesmerized by the rough beauty of the area. I understand her paintings now.

Earth Colors and Chimney Rock

How does one paint the colors and the contorted rocks of the New Mexico mountains? I've never seen so many earth colors: all the reds, all the yellows, all the ochres and browns will be required, as well as grays, lavenders and greens.

Today, I finally sat down and began an "en plein aire" painting of Chimney Rock. It's a strange tower of red rock, hung high on a cliff. It was so windy, my paper and palette were blowing and, of course, the paints were drying very quickly. I ended up with a fairly nice little piece, which I'll post tomorrow. Meanwhile, here are more pictures of Ghost Ranch, including the Cottonwood Trees in all their fall glory and Chimney Rock.

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, is the land of dreams

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, exceeds expectations. The vastness and strangeness of the landscape is incomparable. Is it a moonscape? Is it from some strange imagination? There’s geologic drama everywhere you look. The colors consist of reds, oranges, purples, greens, and grays. The shapes are molded and melted and twisted from some sort of cataclysmic geological event. The light during the day is amazing and I can clearly see why the shapes and light attracted Georgia O'Keeffe. The night sky is the blackest I’ve ever seen but, at the same time, it’s full of more stars than I’ve ever observed. There are so many stars and complex galaxies, that the sky is nearly opaque.

I’ve never felt more like a grain of sand than I do now.

Ghost Ranch must be one of the most eerily beautiful places on earth…..here are some pictures to share with you.

Dancing Shadows and The Apple Tree

"Dancing Shadows" is a portrait of the little stone spring house on the Wyeth property and "The Apple Tree" just won 1st place in Watercolors at the Waterford Fair in Virginia.