musings from the studio and beyond ~
dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .
10.02.2012 ~ cathedral rock ~ autumn afternoon, i
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| cathedral rock — autumn afternoon ~ oil on canvas ~ by dawn chandler ~ copyright dawn chandler 2012 |
Autumn is my favorite season, especially in New Mexico. The weather and temperatures are more reasonable; more civilized. No wind. Not too hot. Not too cold. The surprise of late summer blooming, like purple asters and gold chamisa… The clear cool crispness of the mountain air, scented here and there with earthy heat-smell of roasting green chiles….The spicy edge of pinon woodsmoke cutting the morning chill… Farm stands overflowing with harvest… clear morning skies overrun by churning late afternoon clouds….
Hmmm…. …..All this leads me to remember one October about fifteen years ago when a friend and I were traveling by bicycle across Mexico, and we stopped for a few days in Mazatlan. We camped there on the beach in a lovely little campground that we had all to ourselves — save one other couple who were camped there in their RV for several months. Turns out they were “regulars” from Albuquerque, who every autumn journeyed to Mexico in their Winnebago, departing the Duke City on Labor Day and living the expat life in Mazatlan until early January.
“What?” I wanted to ask. “Are you frickin’ kidding me?! Autumn is THE BEST TIME to be in New Mexico!!! You’ve gotta be CRAZY to leave Albuquerque every fall!!!”
Anyho’….
here’s an autumnal Philmont view — my third in the painting series of Philmont’s Cathedral Rock (see the first painting here and the second one here.) This one is based on a photo taken last fall by Bill Cass, the co-author of the book for which I’m doing this project.
09.30.2012 ~ sunset light on glorietta mesa (x2)
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| sunset light over glorietta mesa, i ~ oil on panel ~ 8 x 10 inches ~ by dawn chandler ~ copyright dawn chandler 2012 |
Last evening’s view from my balcony, looking east toward Glorietta Mesa.*
It’s funny: I painted the first one as quickly as I could what with the wind whipping up, me getting oil paint all over my hands, and the light shading rapidly to grey as a massive bank of clouds moved in behind me. Disappointed in the fading of the light, but relatively satisfied with my little painting (my 3rd attempt at plein air painting in many years!) I deemed it finished, gathered my brushes, packed up my paint box, and carefully walked down the outside stairs from my balcony to my studio. I was swishing my brushes in fresh turps getting ready to wash and retire them for the evening, when I looked up at the window only to see the setting sunlight beaming brilliantly across the hills. QUICK!! I gathered up my brushes and box again, darted up the stairs, praying the light would last as I started a second painting…
Sure enough.
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| sunset light over glorietta mesa, ii ~ oil on panel ~ 8 x 10 inches ~ by dawn chandler ~ copyright dawn chandler 2012 |
*If you’ve read Hampton Side’s excellent book, Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West, then you know much of the history of the US conquest of New Mexico happened right here at Glorietta Mesa, within plain view of my bedroom. In fact, I’m quite sure Kit Carson himself walked right over my septic tank.
09.26.2012 ~ cathedral rock ~ taking it all in
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| cathedral rock ~ taking it all in ~ oil on canvas ~ 18 x 24 inches ~ by dawn chandler ~ copyright dawn chandler 2012 |
My second painting of Cathedral Rock for the book project mentioned in the previous post. This one based on a photo by my 80s Phil staff colleague, Gina Dobratz-Rezner. I wanted to do at least one painting with a vantage from higher up in the meadow, and Gina’s pic fit the bill perfectly. (She also has some glorious photos with lots of sunflowers in the foreground…May need to try to capture one of those next…). I like that this one clearly includes the road; there’s something inviting about it.
When comparing this painting with the previous one, it’s interesting to note the difference in the color overall and especially of the Rock. The colors in the first painting are much, much cooler, with the greys leaning toward blue (hence my comment that it almost feels more like the Pacific Northwest), whereas here the colors are all much warmer, with the greys leaning toward red or pink. Neither is wrong; color is relative, so the exact color of that rock — and the whole scene — will change throughout the day depending on the weather and light.
09.25.2012 ~ cathedral rock ~ summer clouds
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| cathedral rock ~ summer clouds ~ oil on canvas ~ 18 x 24 inches ~ by dawn chandler ~ copyright dawn chandler 2012 |
The first of four very recent paintings of Philmont’s Cathedral Rock and reservoir. (Check back! The other three will be posted here over the course of this week!) Special thanks to Greg Palmer who’s lovely photo of Cathedral Rock provided the inspiration for this painting.
As mentioned in an earlier post this spring, I’ve been commissioned to create a painting for the cover of the next Philmont Staff Association publication: The Life and Times of Jack Rhea, director of Philmont’s camping department from 1954 – 1962, and edited and co-written by Bill Cass.
In his research for the book, Bill learned that Cathedral Rock and the reservoir was Mr. Rhea’s favorite view on the Ranch, hence the request for a painting of this view. Much like the way my Baldy painting was used for the cover of the PSA/Cass book on Joe Davis, Carry On, one of my Cathedral Rock paintings will grace the cover of this new book on Jack Rhea.
My first attempt this spring at painting this scene was frustrating, as I discussed in some detail in that earlier post. Mainly I felt that that painting fell flat, due almost entirely to a lack of contrast in the lights and the darks.
This attempt is vastly more satisfying! There’s a much better differentiation between light and shadow, such that there’s a real sense of the time of day. It’s funny though, this painting style feels a little “chunky”. What do I mean by that? I’m not even sure…But there’s something about the paint handling that’s a bit unusual for me. It almost feels like a woodblock print rather than an oil painting. Maybe that’s from the halation of warm under-painting emerging around the edges of most of the shapes? Hmm… Not sure.
This scene is pretty lush. In fact, truth be told it really kind of feels more like the Pacific Northwest than the arid Southwest…! Oh well. Sometimes, when the rain gods are smiling, Northern New Mexico and Philmont’s Central Country really are this lush; it’s a blessing when they are.
Below, some details:
09.23.2012 ~ 7am sunday morning ~ morning clouds
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| 7am sunday morning ~ morning clouds ~ by dawn chandler ~ oil on panel ~ 6 x 6 inches ~ copyright dawn chandler 2012 |
Thank goodness I opened the blinds. And when I did, my breath halted. This is the view from my studio, just a few minutes ago.
This is “plein air” painting — painting from life. It’s darn tricky to do, and I haven’t even attempted it in at least four years.
More about that later. But for now, while a fresh pot of tea steeps and my neighbor’s rooster’s crow is just audible through the cracked window, I’m thinking “not a bad beginning…Not bad at all!“