Adventures of Plein Air Painters

Jesse and I had a little summer adventure. 

Heading out on a Saturday from WF, we went to Plainview, TX.  You would think that would not be very exciting, but we drove through Vernon so I could show Jesse a bit about her history.  Jesse was born in Vernon, but we moved when she was not quite a year old.  I drove her around the plaza and courthouse showing her where her grandmother went to the movies, where her great-grandparents lived, where we lived, where her dad worked, etc.  She said she didn't realize her ties to Vernon.

We drove on to Plainview for an art show. Yep, in Plainview! Jesse had a sculpture/print in the Patent Pending show.  Apparently a family from Plainview opened a gallery/museum in an old building that had patent books.  The books are given to artist for inspiration or just to use for a sculpture. This opens the door for all sorts of odd art. Odd being the word! It was lots of fun.  We met some interesting folk.  We spent the night in a cheap hotel before heading to Amarillo to see my sister.  I had really planned on staying to see her, but she seemed busy and sent us on our way after brunch.  That was okay with us since we were excited to be going to the mountains.

We stopped in Clayton to eat at the Eklund - an old hotel in downtown Clayton - which was fun.  We took some artistic photos of the place.  We took photos while we drove across the 80 something miles of prairie between Clayton and Springer, NM. Most people hate that part of the trip, but I have always loved it.  I love the open land where you can see for miles - especially when you can see the mountains on the horizon.  It is just raw country. It is beautiful and isolated.

Our plan was to stop at the CreeMee in Cimarron to get ice cream and potty before heading on to RR. But our plans went awry in a good way.  The Cimarron canyon recently had a forest fire and now has flooding problems.  There is no vegetation to hold back the water rushing down the mountainside - rocks and boulders are a danger. Because it had begun to rain, the police shut off the canyon while we were eating our ice cream. No problema! We drove back to I-25 and drove down to Wagon Mound - taking photos of the old town.  Then we headed west through Ocate and into Black Lake and Angel Fire - nine miles of dirt road.  We took more pics in Ocate. We eventually arrived in RR in time for supper with my cousin. The out-of-the-way drive was a good adventure.

Monday, Jesse drove to Taos Ski Valley and hiked up to Gold Hill by way of Bull of the Woods.  My cousin and I went to Angel Fire and Taos Canyon to shop at a pottery place - very cool. We had lunch with my friend, Jo, who had just arrived for the extended stay in the mountains. We made a plan for the next day - the beginning of our paint out.

The paint out started at 9 AM in Questa at the Wild Rivers area.  We signed in and got our canvases stamped to show they were blank, and we began painting.  It was an amazing view at the Sheep's Crossing area, plus we were meeting all sorts of new people. Eventually it got hot, so we ate some lunch and headed to the La Junta area for a painting demo.  After that, we were worn out and headed home. Well, not too worn out. We went directly to the Red River Brewery for beer and appetizers and lots of conversation.

The next day, Wed, was much like the first, but we painted at St. Anthony's Church in Questa. Here I ran into old friends from Questa. Flavio C. taught school with me and is now retired.  He was an important part of the locals who restored the old church.  He took me on a private tour of the church and we talked about old times. There were lots of Questa ladies helping out at the church and welcoming the artists. The ladies were silly with each other and talking in that English/Spanish way of Questa. It made me homesick.

Thursday was painting in Red River.  Jesse and I got up even earlier than usual and hit the town.  By 9 AM, I had painted Mutz Meadow.  We continued to paint and then attended another demo that afternoon on the river near the Alpine. It was here that I met FF, who comments from time to time on this blog.  What a nice lady!  It was like we were old friends!  FF and her family had come to RR on a little vacation. Knowing that I was going to be there, she came and found me. We visited while the artist did the demo. It is so much fun meeting people through this blog.

Speaking of meeting people, the whole group of artists from the paint out (about 60 people) ate at Sundance that night.  By this time, we were beginning to know each other - some better than others. The supper was a good time to have more conversation and meet more people.  As I was leaving Sundance, I ran into Martha and Ziggy K. I used to babysit for their daughter back when I was 9 years old and their daughter was 3 - about 50 years ago.  Martha hugged me cried. Where has the time gone?

Friday was more painting, but we had to have our paintings finished and framed and turned in by 5 PM. Saturday they had a quick draw - we started at 9 AM and turned in a painting framed by noon to be judged on the spot.  It was intense. Then we had all day to rest, drink beer and visit at the RR Brewery before going to the art show at the Brass Rail in the old Alpine theater. The show was lots of fun.  Although Jesse and I did not win any prizes, we did sell art!

Sunday we had lunch at the art show and then had a little art swap with the other artists.  We said goodbye to our new friends, more time at the Brewery, and then picked up our art at 5 PM. Jesse and I did a bit more swapping of art with fellow artists. Monday we drove home without any incidents or excitement.

Thoughts on the paint out: It was brain consuming and physically tiring. It stretched me as an artist in a way I didn't know existed. It was very professionally done and the artists were very professional. It was a feeling of "I need to up my game or go home".  Hopefully, I can up my game. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I'll try to get some photos posted soon.