Changing Seasons

I woke this morning to a winter wonderland – our mountain valley is dusted with a few inches of snow,  the Truchas Peaks are still hidden behind layers of low gray cloud.  This is the best painting weather – the house is cozy from the woodstove and the snow bounces quite a bit of light into the studio, where work continues on my latest piece – coincidentally, a snowstorm!

Above Gothic I (working title)

This piece is one of a pair I’m working on right now – I’ve got a number of new paintings underway on cradled clayboard.  The smooth clay surface is interesting to work on and yields some lovely effects that are more difficult to achieve with canvas. This is the early stage where the paint layer is very thin, more like a watercolor than an oil painting.  I’ll continue to build layers until the swirls of mist in the sky and the rugged outcropping of rocks below feel in balance visually.

Our seasonal change brings with it other changes as well. My good friends and gallery owners, Jake Willson and Kathy Riggs, have decided to take a six month travel sabbatical and are closing Ojo Sarco Pottery until May. They’re clearing the gallery until they return, so this afternoon I’ll bring home my paintings.  They’ll be available from my studio,  please email me directly if you’re interested.