“Telluride Vista” (11×14, oil)

 

This past week pushed the boundaries of what I ever thought I would do to get a good painting. After driving 8+ hours from Fort Collins to Telluride, Colorado I threw on a dress and went straight to their downtown Art Walk event. The new Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery had an inspiring display of plein air and local landscape paintings that got me in the right mindset for the week’s adventure.
 

The next few days were spent hiking through hip deep powder for the perfect views, painting as quickly as possible until the snow drifts started building up on the edge of the palette, and alternating between jumping jacks and painting to stay warm. My painting buddies- Dave Santillanes, Rachel Herrera, and Nicholas Reti– all had great attitudes as our outings often turned into hysterical slapstick with trees unleashing powdery clumps onto our easels. We were reminded time and again that oil and water do not mix. When the snow gets on the palette and you try to mix your paints it turns into the unworkable consistency of sand, clumping together, and falling off the canvas. At that point I learned you just have to throw in the towel, make yourself a strong hot toddy, and wait for your painting set-up to melt and dry before running out into the next snowstorm.

 
The challenge of working in these extremes has put everything into perspective- if I can do this, I can do anything! I feel good about the couple paintings that survived the elements and look forward to the next adventure.