High Road to Taos series, mission accomplished
I've completed some great paintings on the high road to Taos on Tuesday. I painted "Truchas" "Golden Fields" and "Santuario" from oil studies on Wednesday. It was a great experience and I feel that my skills have gone up a notch or two because I enjoyed my subjects and I was decisive on what needed to be expressed. So here's three of the works for you. They are now in my art store.
Gateway to El Santuario de Chimayo 20×24 oil on board
A holy church that people come from all over, especially for the holy dirt that people claim it has healing powers. I have some of that dirt at home and used a pinch of it in my work, mixed in the gesso. I wanted a shimmering look for the roofs and used an Alsatian orange and white. The right tower looks like some mysterious light or figure, well that's up to the viewer, but the more I look at it, it represents some dark power, while the left tower with its bell represents life and music. The crosses are turquoise and yellow, representing earth and the New Mexico colors, honoring earth and sky. The yellow light in the entrance is a welcoming light. There are two purple shadows near the tree on the pink pavement, one's for the tree, the other is unknown but these shadows existed. The purple and pink flowers around the entrance represents life, beauty of the entrance and church, very festive. Even the blue sky, looking more ominous and getting lighter from left to right, perhaps a brighter future represented. This is my first church painting and the more I look at it, the more I'm seeing what it represents in me, the forces of good vs. evil, light vs. dark, religion vs. nature. I believe it's the opposing forces of life is what makes the painting look strong. I also used prussian blue instead of ultramarine blue and quin. red instead of napthol red for the flowers. The prussian blue made the trees and skies more vivid and the trees/bushes have a character of their own.
Truchas Solitude 16×20 oil on board
This painting was from an 8×10 study on location like "Santuario". About 15 minutes up the road from Chimayo is this very small town (no traffic lights) overlooking the valley below and these mountain ranges that reminded me of Colorado. I especially admired the many colorful layers of earth that leads to the peaks. I wanted a spiritual approach and wanted the light to shine through the earth and on the mountain peaks. At the end of the painting process at the last minute, I took some alkyd medium and wiped off the upper left part of the mountain, leaving organic shapes and light to come through, and then wiped several patches below it, giving it a cinematic feel. I never tried this effect on my work, and I liked the results. I like the blue patch on the lower mountain peak, where it seems that some source of power still resides there, maybe responsible for the mountain's magnificence and complements the unexpected lights residing around the scene. The white snow on the peaks were the hardest park, they had a design and character of its own and I wanted to get this as accurately down as possible. Even when painting abstract or impressionistic, there still must be some kind of accuracy so it will appear believable. If there's any exaggerating, it's the light sources, but the light on the peaks and grounds are in the right places. My spirituality and nature's spirituality are in tune on this one.
Golden Fields 16×20 oil on board
Golden Fields was taken from a photo when I was near the earthship colony by Taos. In this area, it is so vast, golden and beautiful country, and so quiet indeed. What moved me when I take photos of places is the possibility of it turning into a painting. There was a storm brewing and the light and colors were amazing. The mountains were a dark purple, indigo color while the yellow fields were a bright yellow. I knew this was going to be a painting one day. The mountains turned out to be the most complex subject to paint because when I looked closer at the mountains, there were many shapes and colors that I didn't see the first time. I wanted to capture the organic shapes and light of these mountains. There was some pink, but I enhanced that effect because it was a nice break from the blues and had a spiritual significance, liked a warm blanket to comfort the purple mountain range. The foreground is the most realistic. There were bushes and
grass popping through and I enjoyed creating the orange light on the bushes and the yellow strands of grass in the very foreground, kind of like having people welcoming visitors "Here's my home!". I did the entire painting in my studio in one day. I've never seen a Taos area scene represented this way in this light, and I'm glad it turned out the way it did.
grass popping through and I enjoyed creating the orange light on the bushes and the yellow strands of grass in the very foreground, kind of like having people welcoming visitors "Here's my home!". I did the entire painting in my studio in one day. I've never seen a Taos area scene represented this way in this light, and I'm glad it turned out the way it did.
