695 Grandma Comes to Visit

I have been away from home for several days with my Art Lady friends.  We visited New Mexico for the third time to plein air paint, and it was a glorious nine days of friendship and painting.  We stayed at the Hacienda del Sol in Taos, New Mexico, and traveled around to various venues.  Our trips are always filled with education, laughter, painting and instruction.

On our first full day, we visited the Two Graces Gallery in Taos, when the owner, Robert, gave us such valuable insight into kachinas, and set up a display of kachinas for us to sketch and photograph. Our assignment for the day was to paint a kachina, and this is the one I chose. I thought it may have been a warrior, but today I called and spoke with Robert who told me that this kachina is an ogre, and get this, a Grandmother.

Legend is that she comes to visit in winter and asks for food.  If you don't have any to offer you, she will give you another chance.  She will visit you again, and if you don't have food, she will eat the children.  The idea is motive to get children to help around the house.

Any way you look at it, I enjoyed painting this kachina, which I never would have attempted.  In the next few days, I will post my New Mexico paintings and hopefully, you will enjoy them.

441 Labyrinth Garden

Today I participated in the West Bend Mutual's plein air competition, my first.  It was fun and stressful at the same time.  The labyrinth garden is beautiful but I learned in hindsight, very difficult to paint.  It was a good learning experience and I enjoyed the beautiful day and being outside.  I painted this and another painting of a stream, framed both of them, all in 7 hours.  yikes!

The Fairest of Them All

Combine a beautiful day with a brilliant blue sky, an outdoor antique market and a lace table clothed table filled with old mirrors facing skyward...