Taos, near John Dunne bridge
Painting near John Dunne Bridge outside Taos, New Mexico one scorching summer morning, I had trouble concentrating on the small pastel landscape of rocks I'd chosen to paint. Not a problem that usually assaults me when I'm painting on location, but small biting insects kept swarming me and the sun was brutal.
I glanced away from the scene I was working from to see two children running through the tall summer grass along a rippling stream. The little girls laughed and played and obviously, simply enjoyed their summer day. I realized I was working too hard. Abandoning my painting, I grabbed my camera and started documenting the children at play in this lovely northeastern New Mexico landscape. As children will do, they eventually waded across the creek to see what I was doing. I learned they lived nearby, above rocks that had magic drawings on them--in this oil painting, I hint at those pictographs.
When my mother saw this painting, she exclaimed "That's you and your sister!" In a way, I think this is a portrait of anyone who takes time to just be a child again, running barefoot through the grass and wading this icy mountain stream on a hot summer day.
- Subject Matter: Landscape
- Current Location: Old Spanish Trail Studio - PO Box 2167 401 Crows Nest Road, Fort Davis, TX 79734 (google map)
- Collections: Figures, Northeastern New Mexico, unframed