FIELD WORK/TESUQUE - 2014

 

January 2014 - Field work:  Looking around.  Becoming acquainted with my new neighborhood.  Nothing replaces a good friend with whom to "roam" the roads, a good camera, a good eye -- and perhaps a willing spirit.

LA TIERRA DE PADRE MARTINEZ - Exhibition-quality fine art print.

No. 159 - LA TIERRA DE PADRE MARTINEZ (From the bridge at Martinez Hacienda, Taos, N.M.) - Exhibition-quality archival print now available at the High Road Fine Art Print Catalogue.

WINTER FIELDS AT LAS TRAMPAS - Exhibition-quality archival print

 

WINTER FIELDS AT LAS TRAMPAS - Exhibition-quality archival print now available at The High Road Print Catalogue.

UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO - 12"X24" Work in Progress (Underpainting) - Color Notes

Studio No. 114 - UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO (A Path Unknown) - 12"x24" Work in Progress (Underpainting)  - Original Oil on Canvas -- Sky:  MG Underpainting White and Yellow Ochre Light.  Trees:  Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Yellow Ochre, Prussian Blue.  Snow:  Payne's Grey and Underpainting White.  Road:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna.

ESPIRITU BLANCO - Exhibition-quality fine art print

ESPIRITU BLANCO (homage to my Truchas neighbor, Don Eusavio - 1982)  Exhibition-quality fine art print now available at the High Road Fine Art Catalogue  

CALLECITA DE TESUQUE, 40"x40" Work in Progress (Underpainting) - Color Notes

 

Studio No. 314 - CALLECITA DE TESUQUE, 40"x40" Work in Progress (Underpainting) - Colors are mixed with MG Underpainting White and applied with turpentine.  Sky:  Paynes Grey.  Road: Yellow Ochre/Dioxazine Purple in the Shadows.  Outline/Trees: Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna.  Brush:  Indian Red.  When I make an underpainting, I try to see the colors underneath the final application of opaque paints.

LA TIENDITA DE ANTIGUA GUATEMALA - Orig. Oil Painting - Special Offer

LA TIENDITA DE ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA - 51"x 39"Donna Clair Original Oil completed in 2001 - Framed with Linen Liner.

My friend Joan Norris, midwife, sent me an e.mail asking if I would help sell this painting to benefit the Northern New Mexico Birth Center.  This painting has been hanging in the Birth Center all these years after I donated it for one of their auctions.  They loved it so much, as did the many, many mothers they have helped through the years, that it has had pride of place at the center.  Times have changed and now with some reluctance, they need to sell this original painting.

If you are interested -- Contact ED, Sandy Campbell, here at the Birth Center: 575-758-1216 or by email: sandy.campbell@gmail.com
Price: $9500 (starting price) it is framed with a linen liner.

Happy 2014!  
Best regards, Donna 

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