ON A QUIET TRUCHAS SUNDAY LONG AGO......

LA NUESTRA SENORA DEL ROSARIO

CALLECITA DE TESUQUE - 40"x40" Work in Progress (Sketch)

Studio No. 214 - CALLECITA DE TESUQUE, 40"x40" Work in Progress - Sketch in Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna.  It is my habit to have six or seven paintings blocked in at a time -- each morning I work on the one that calls "Paint ME!"

WINTERLIGHT - 48"x36" Work in Progress - Glaze

Studio No. 214 - WINTERLIGHT - 48"x36" Work in Progress. Glazes.  Hoping this painting will have the feeling of late afternoon light.  Decided to thin Payne's Grey with painting medium (not turpentine) and cover canvas.  This is an experiment!

WINTERLIGHT (TESUQUE) - 48"x36" Work in Progress - Underpainting

 

STUDIO NO. 214 - WINTERLIGHT (TESUQUE) - 48"x36" Work in Progress - The underpainting - Turpentine and color mixed with Grumbacher MG Underpainting White.  Hoping this will have the feeling of a late winter afternoon - am thinking of glazing over the entire underpainting with a thin film of Payne's Grey.  Snow - Payne's Grey and MG White.  Shrubs and the Road:  Indian Red, Mars Orange, Burnt Umber.  Pine tree:  Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Prussian Blue - a little Ochre in the lighter areas.  Planning to block in a few more canvases this week before I begin the final painting on this canvas.  Stay tuned.   

IGLESIA DEL VALLE - Exhibition-quality archival giclee

 

IGLESIA DEL VALLE (El Llano, New Mexico) - Exhibition- quality archival giclee print now available from the High Road Print Catalogue - Click here to preview/purchase.

PUEBLO MORNING LIGHT - Exhibition-quality archival giclee print

PUEBLO MORNING LIGHT (Taos, New Mexico) - Exhibition-quality archival giclee print now available - Click here to preview/purchase.

WINTER DREAMS - Exhibition-quality archival giclee

WINTER DREAMS - (Llano Quemado, Truchas, New Mexico - 1982) - Exibition-quality Archival Giclee -  Click here to view/purchase.

UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO - Exhibition-quality Archival Print

 

UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO (A Path Unknown) - Click here for the High Road Print Catalogue.  

Long, long ago, after moving to New Mexico, I discovered the mystery and fascination of back roads - some led to quiet pastures, and some to old churches, capillas, ghost towns-- old crumbling buildings, broken fences -- signs of lives having lived in another time-- places where all you can hear is the wind and perhaps the whisper of birds' wings as they pass by overhead.......these roads always seem to appear at the beginning of one's journey....... Enjoy!

 

 

FIELDWORK 2014.......

Una Senda Desconocido (A Path Unknown) - For me all it takes is a good camera and my 20-year old pick-up truck - maybe a sandwich and some cookies!  In every place I have lived and painted - Santa Fe, Truchas, Taos - there has been a period of excitement in the beginning and once I begin to feel at home, I seem to find my heart in that place and it then becomes a part of the story of my life.  Now I am at home in Tesuque - coming full circle....it is important to go beyond what my eyes see.....

STUDIO WORK.....

Once or twice a year I order my paints, canvases and panels. As long as the gesso is mixed, it pays to build an inventory of supplies at the ready.   If in the middle of a "work blockage" -- don't fight it -- gesso canvases, build your source material with some field trips.  Taking a break once in a while is great for inspiration -- most of my work is painted in my head long before the brush ever hits the canvas!

PREPARING TO PAINT -- GESSOING CANVAS

It is my habit to work on a "toned ground" - years ago I worked on a red ground and sometimes ochre.  Then I found that a grey-blue background worked best for me -- I mix the gesso (if necessary thin a little bit with water to a workable consistency) with Payne's Grey and then apply two to three coats to the canvas in a swirling motion (let each coat dry to the touch before applying the next) - avoid painting in straight strokes.  Let dry overnight before stacking boards or canvas for storage.

WELCOME 2014!

NEW YEAR....New palette, new canvas ......anything is possible!

RIO CHAMA (ABIQUIU, N.M.) 20"X20" Orig. Oil - Sold

3-DAY AUCTION - "RIO CHAMA" (Abiquiu, N.M.) 20"x20" Original Oil (wrap-around painting) - auction ending Sunday  - SOLD

WINTER GIFTS......

 

To Art Friends Everywhere!  Many of you have been with me a long time and know I love to send this greeting every year.  The original of this painting was "adopted" by some great friends and very prolific art collectors years ago and still resides in a lovely home in Taos.  The street in this painting is the main street in Truchas -- I walked to the post office from my little adobe house every day and still keep the memories of that special time and place very close.  The woman is the memory I've kept of my little Polish grandmother -- she carried a shopping bag with her everywhere -- those were her "gifts" her "surprises".  The words of Fra Giovanni never fail to uplift - especially at this time of the year.  From my heart I wish each and every one of you all the best of this holiday season -- Hug someone special today!  Sincere best wishes, Donna - Tesuque, New Mexico - 12/20/13

"There  is nothing I can give you which you have not;
But there is much, very much that while I cannot give it,
 you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts
find rest in today.  TAKE HEAVEN.
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden
in this present moment.  TAKE PEACE.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within reach is joy.
There is a radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see,
and to see we have only to look.  I BESEECH YOU TO LOOK.

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by
their covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard.
Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it
a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom with power.

Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel's hand that
brings it to you.  Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or
a duty, believe me that angel's hand is there; the gift is there,
and the wonder of an overshadowing presence.
Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

And so, at this time, I greet you.
Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with
profound esteem and with the prayer that for you now and
forever, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away."

Fra Giovanni, 1513 AD

FROM MY TESUQUE WINDOW - 12/19/13

This morning - from Tesuque window - I see a painting in there - taking shape - loved the light coming in through the garden gate on the patch of snow.....

TAOS WINTER DREAMS, 6"x8" Orig. Oil Framed - Sold

TAOS WINTER DREAMS (Santistevan Lane, Taos, New Mexico) - 6"x8" Original Oil, Framed in Silver - Sold

DEEP RIVER DREAMS, 9"x12" Original Oil, Framed - Sold

DEEP RIVER DREAMS (Rio Grande at Pilar, New Mexico) - 9"x12" Original Oil Framed in Silver with Linen Liner. SOLD

From a Winter Window - Tesuque - 12/5/13

TESUQUE BLUE - 12/1/13

12/1/13 - Getting acquainted with my new neighborhood!

100 Small Paintings No. 72 - RANCHITOS PASTORAL 8"X8" - Sold

 

100 Small Paintings No. 72 - RANCHITOS PASTORAL (View from the field at Padre Martinez Hacienda, Taos, New Mexico), 8"X8" Original Oil, SOLD