Leaping through February

On February 7th, I delivered my final paintings for the “Artists Challenge” show and enjoyed the opening on February 10th— seeing the various interpretations of the themes and meeting several local artists. The six, weekly challenge paintings and a “wild card” painting required me to leap into the theme each weekend and deliver the painted 8”x8” panel on the wintery Wednesdays of January and early February. The final theme was “Leap.” I had taken a photo in late January of a deer leaping through the field, so I used that as part of a photo-collage. Winter sunrise over the snow-covered landscape— with the fields and fence posts and not-so-distant hills— inspired my entry for the “Wild Card” painting. On February 24th, I took a pastel workshop with an artist named Michael Chesley Johnson (https://www.mchesleyjohnson.com/) who has lived in Ramah for twenty years and teaches pastel workshops across the country and in Canada. It was fascinating to watch him work, and I learned a lot about pastels— a material that is new to me. Included in the photos are scenes from the month: the Challenge show at ART123 Gallery in Gallup— a photo of each theme followed by my panel (the themes again were: Contrast, Discover, Vista, Time, Chaos, Leap, and the Wild Card), pastels and pastel sketches in progress, a few wintery views, and the trio of pups— cozy inside. Wishing you well as we head into March!