Bosque Gold

BOSQUE GOLD
12 x 18" Pastel on UArt Sanded Paper
Unframed
$400 + s/h
(c) 2009 D. Hoffman

A week or so ago I went down to the Rio Grande Nature Preserve State Park to take some photos of the bosque (cottonwood forest) turning into brilliant fall colors. The weather was perfect: blue skies, light breeze, 70º.

There are two ponds at the park. One is rather small, and the other is larger with the visitors' center overlooking it. Some folks from England were in the observation area while I was there, and we counted 16 turtles sunning themselves on a couple of half-submerged logs. Canada geese came in for a landing, disturbing the ducks that were paddling around lazily.

Walking out the back door, the path led to a concrete barrier wall with window/openings for observing the wildlife without disturbing them. It was through one of those openings that I took the photo reference for this painting. Sun shining on the cottonwoods and brush, the Sandia Mountains in the background.

I hope you enjoy the painting. I'd love to hear from you.

Jemez East Fork

JEMEZ EAST FORK #2
8 x 10 Pastel on Ersta Sanded Paper

A while back we drove to Jemez Springs, a charming little town in the mountains. On the way we passed through the Jemez Pueblo and stopped at their visitors' center. They not only have information available about the Pueblo, but also a lot of pottery, especially the "storyteller" figures.

As is the law on most pueblos, they do not permit photos taken anywhere on pueblo property. However, up the road a few miles there are public fishing and picnicking areas along about four miles of the Jemez River. It's a beautiful, quiet place of solitude, with the trout stream easily accessible from the parking lots, and the red rock cliffs in the background. Here is one view of it this special place.

Here is another with the red rock cliffs:

JEMEZ EAST FORK
6 x 8 pastel on sanded paper

Some of Ken's Pottery

We have received several requests to display some of Ken's pottery on this blog, so here are some examples. He's been busy throwing pots and making decorative plates, but so often his work is stored in the shed before I get a chance to take the photos. All of these were thrown here in New Mexico within the past few months.

A friend has a Raku kiln in his backyard and they get together on calm mornings to fire the raku items they've produced. Raku items cannot be used for food because they are fired at a lower heat. Here is one example, and another "Woven Bowl" is shown below.

Raku Plate



He produces a lot of artistic yet functional items such as these :

Sunset Plate

Sunflower Bowl

Green Sculptured Bowl

Another piece of Raku:

Woven Raku Plate

Ken is accepting commissions, and often has standing orders from me for dinnerware. I no longer own a set of store-bought everyday dishes; all our meals are served on hand thrown pottery. Years ago, I got tired of having partial sets of dishes because something got dropped, and we started a very small collections of pottery dishes. It took off from there, and now almost all of our dishes are examples of Ken's handiwork. Always a conversation topic when we have guests. Left on his own, he experiments with more artistic endeavors such as these.

Been Busy Painting

Misty Morning at Ghost Lake
6 x 8 pastel on UArt sanded paper

We've been keeping busy lately, Ken with his pottery and me with my painting. I'm preparing for an upcoming show of small pastel works, less than 48 square inches, that will take place in November here in Albuquerque. The rules for entering shows are that the work must be original, not taken from photos taken by others, or copies of other works, AND it cannot be done in any kind of art class. I've taken a lot of classes, and "practiced" my painting using most of my old photos of subject matter that I thought would work in a painting. "Misty Morning at Ghost Lake" is from a photo we took many years ago in Northern Wisconsin. We stayed at a resort in a cabin just a few feet from the shore of Ghost Lake. One morning, we got up early, walked out the door and were greeted by the sun just starting to burn off the mist on the lake. The far shore was barely visible but the dock and the trees on the point were clear. We were struck by how beautiful it was!!

The photo was originally a slide, and as happens over time, slides deteriorate so we had the few that survived (of the hundreds we had taken on our travels) converted onto a CD and from there to a hard drive.

I painted this same scene in acrylics a few years ago, but when I went to look for it here, I couldn't find it so apparently it was one of the things we did not move with us to New Mexico. That's when I decided to repaint it, this time in pastels. I hope you enjoy it.

Foothills Wash
6 x 8 pastel on UArt Sanded Paper

I was telling an artist friend about my lack of skill with a camera and my inability to take good pictures to use as models for my painting. Being the generous person that she is, she offered to take me into the hills a few minutes from our home and show me what to look for when taking pictures. This location is at an"open space" park. Albuquerque has thousands of acres of open space set aside for hiking, picnicking, trail bikes, etc., all well maintained and safe if you take minimal precautions.

The first one I took was of a wash -- where the water rushes down during a rainstorm (aka a "monsoon.") This is looking south at about 9 a.m. on a warm morning. The gnats were horrendous at this location and we stayed only about a half hour. I can't believe how loud those little critters are when they are buzzing your ears!! Next time I'm bringing bug repellent!

It's amazing to me how many colors are in the high desert. In the spring, the hills and valleys are covered in wildflowers. Gourd plants grow wild, and people pick them when they are ripe and hard, and paint them for ornaments.

I'll be doing more paintings from the surrounding area. And, in response to those who have asked, I will be posting some of Ken's pottery. I took some photos today, but haven't had a chance to download them from the camera.

Till next time.....

Palo Duro Canyon

PALO DURO CANYON, TEXAS
approximately 5 x 8.5
Pastel on Sanded Paper

When driving west on I-40 from Oklahoma City to Amarillo, the first rest stop in Texas is at Palo Duro Canyon. It's worth a stop because the scenery is awesome and you can see for miles. They have a wonderful display inside with the history of the area and information on the canyon which is second in size to the Grand Canyon. You can see more info on it here. The view from the rest stop is very nice, but the state park is on my list as a "must visit" in more depth.

This little pastel painting only hints at the awesomeness of this place.