Jumping into the new year with paintings for the ROY G. BIV challenge (which opens at the ART123 Gallery in Gallup, in February), and a few ‘note-taking’ paintings that I completed for a show at the Old School Gallery in El Morro. After that opening two friends visited Star Garden Gallery, and I talked about the ‘star wall.’ There was a wildfire at El Morro National Monument in early January. Firefighters from five volunteer crews in the area managed to keep it contained and extinguish it. Many acres burned in just a few hours and it took over a day to extinguish it… A glimpse of how quickly this arid landscape catches fire. I can’t even imagine the scale of the California wildfires. We’ve been thankful to have a dusting or two of snow to give some moisture to the land and the animals. One frigid morning, a herd of elk came down from the forest and through the fields. They stayed about twenty minutes and then headed back up to the woods. I love seeing their hoof-prints when we hike up in the forest; a comforting sign of our wild companions.
