Thursday of last week Peggy and I drove to Grand Junction, Colorado where she was judging Monuments and Canyons, an invitational plein air panting event held by the Colorado National Monument Association to benefit the Colorado National Monument. It was the seventh year of the event which has raised $700,000 for the stewardship and preservation of the amazing place. On Thursday evening she did a plain air painting demonstration from 7 to 9pm. In other words, the painting would stop at 9pm whether she had finished or not. She opened with the disclaimer that she might not finish since was attempting a larger size, an 11”x14”, than she would normally use. Happily, she finished about 20 minutes early to a hearty round of applause.
I find the journey from the first brush strokes when the shapes in the painting are established to the completed piece to be miraculous. I can’t fathom how an artist can deliver a vital, evocative, work of art inside two hours. Yet, there it was at 8:40pm Thursday night after four hours of sleep and a harrowing nine-hour slog from Taos. Peggy’s drive and endurance are beyond me. I was toast, while she proceeded to judge the show Friday afternoon between 2pm and 4pm, give the awards at 4:30, joined me for dinner down the block in bustling downtown Grand Junction, and attended another art opening across town at 8:30.
And we were on the road back to Taos at 7:30am Saturday
morning. On the way we stopped at her gallery, Sorrel Sky, in Durango to pick up some frames and a real baguette at Bread.
The woman’s a machine. And I'm not.
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1 comment:
The process of art, as demonstrated by your series of photographs of Peggy painting, is almost as important as the finished product. Thank you for including that in your blog today. We certainly identify with your feeling toasted yesterday. We were in the same boat after the Wool Festival, despite the fact that at three miles away, the drive is much faster than from Taos! Glad you topped off your journey by stopping at Bread to procure a REAL baguette! Rest up and have a splendid week in the beautiful New Mexico autumn!
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