Landscape of the Gila Art Show At McCray Gallery WNMU

The Landscape of the Gila from peter bill on Vimeo.

The Landscape of the Gila from peter bill on Vimeo.

The Landscape of the Gila
August 27-September 27th

The Gallery will be open 12-5 every day and 12-8 on the 25th

Closing Reception as part of the Gila River Festival
Friday September 25th 5:30 - 7:00 PM

Aleada Siragusa "Unbridled Power" 20"x16"

I am happy to have two of my oil paintings chosen for this art show at McCray Gallery on the Western New Mexico University campus.

Aleada Siragusa "Raven's Mist" 24"x30"

This is a must see show. Peter Bill, Associate Professor of Art curated the exhibit. You will enjoy the diversity of art objects chosen for the show. Weavings, ceramics, gourd bird sculptures, a look and smell peep hole installation, photography, films, and oil, acrylic and encaustic paintings in a variety of styles.

 WNMU is one reason my husband and I chose to live here; for the culture the University adds to the area. Because of my respect for the University atmosphere I was particularly pleased to be part of this show. I enjoyed meeting and talking to Professor Peter Bill and some of the other professors and students including, Casney Tadeo,  the undergrad assistant/'manager" working on her internship at the gallery for the BFA program at WNMU and Chala Werber, the graduate gallery assistant. Thank you all who worked on the show. Western New Mexico University helps make Silver City one of the best small art towns in the USA. 

GET READY FOR THE

11TH ANNUAL GILA RIVER FESTIVAL

Finding Balance in a Changing World

September 24 - 27, 2015

The Gila River Festival is an annual event in Silver City. This year it is a most important event because the well being of the Gila River, New Mexico's last wild unfettered river is under attack from plans to divert the river from its natural state. Most of the people in Grant County are against this but the legislators and committee seem to be continuing towards diversion. Along with extensive damage to the river the people of Grant County will end up paying for much of the cost of this boondoggle. There are better alternatives to getting the water needed for farms and livestock.  

Painting and Drawing at City of Rocks, a New Mexico State Park

One of my favorite places to hike and just have fun is the New Mexico State Park, City of Rocks. My husband and I enjoy hiking the rocks. There are picnic tables in nooks around the park which provide a good amount of privacy and all have views worthy of painting. 

The photographs above were taken in 2002 during our first visit to the Silver City area. You can see the scale of the rocks from this photo. Our daughter Leela was in her last year of High School. She is now a professional 3D environmental Artist. She is reading in the photo and I am painting. I have some links more to blog pages about Leela's art and career at the end of this post.

I like to hike up with a sketch book to paint the small stunted trees among the cliffs which I like to call by their Oriental name, Bonsai trees. 

Bonsai Tree in Rocks:
Watercolor and Ink 5"x7" 

There is camping in the park some with electric and water and more sites around the park without. The park has clean bathrooms, showers and a visitor center.

We hiked a new trail in City of Rocks this spring to Table Mountain but it was too hot for us to climb it. I get low blood sugar so we brought water and chocolate in a belly pack but unfortunately the chocolate was melted so we sucked it off the metal wrapper and got it all over our faces and laughed the whole time. It may have been the best chocolate I have ever had!

Watercolor sketch of Table Mountain 4"x6"







Watercolor sketch of Table Mountain 4"x6"










View from one picnic site on the east side, beautiful
cooling rain clouds all this summer.
Clouds In View: Pastel, charcoal and chalk
on toned paper. 6"x8.5








Above is Cook's Peak seen from the same picnic area as the two views of Table Mountain
Cooks Peak: Watercolor 4'x6'



Cook's Peak: 10.5x14 Oil on Linen Canvas

I painted the above view in 2002 when we first came to the Silver City area and we decided this is where we would relocate from Florida. 

I painted the view below this spring on the west side of the park as the sun was going down and reflecting on the rock walls.





Sunset View: Oil on board 10"x7"





Balancing Rock #2: Pastel, Charcoal and Chalk 6x8.5





Drawing the balancing rock while staying out of the wind.






Balancing Rock 9"x12" Oil on Birch Board

Above is a different Balancing Rock painted in 2013.





Virga Rain at City of Rocks
Oil on Linen Canvas 10.5x14

Above is a view from the west side of the "city", painted in 2002.

We have been blessed with rain just about every day this summer and I am working on a number of paintings in my studio most of the time instead of plein air painting. The Mimbres River is filled and when we visited Las Cruces I was happy to see the Rio Grande filled with water too, as it should be.

We are planning to travel as soon as the weather cools down to camp out in more of the State Parks in New Mexico so I can spend a good amount of time uninterrupted at the parks painting en plein air. I plan update my blogs to include information on this endeavor with suggestions and insights on painting in the State Parks of New Mexico. 

You can see more information on the New Mexico State Parks at: http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/

Related Blog Posts: 

Steven Paul Jobs, In Memoriam: Girl With Apple

Mother Daughter Dinosaur Paint Out

Trees With Faces & Happy St Patricks Day!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Aleada Aine age 27

This is a photograph of me holding my blackthorn walking stick from my paternal Irish grandfather. St Patrick's Day has always been important to me, especially because it is part of my heritage.

Face Tree In the Gila Forest

Recently while hiking in the Gila National Forest I came upon this face in the tree, actually there are two faces in the tree. I tried showing it to Guy but each time I walked to the tree, it disappeared. So I memorized just where it was to walk up and show it to Guy. It was only visible for a short time because the light was hitting just right.

I also took several photos of the tree and when I came home I did a drawing of it, just for fun.

Weirwood tree

This tree face reminded me of the Weirwood tree or Heart Tree from the popular  Fantasy Book and TV Series; Game of Thrones. These trees often had a face carved by the Children of the Forest in its trunk, and is the center of the religion Old Gods of the Forest Religion. I am listening to the audio version of the book sometimes while I paint and also while I fall asleep.

Bev Doolittle is I believe, the most famous artist painting the hidden patterns in nature which contain images. I thought I would share this artist with some of the younger folks who read this blog and who may not have had the opportunity know her art.

I read some time ago Leonardo De Vinci told artists he was inspired by images he found in wood grain patterns and other natural forms and he advised them to look at these shapes for inspiration. I see faces and all sorts of things in flooring also. I enjoy collecting rocks, pebbles and small bits of wood with faces in them.

Snow Day: Plein Air Painting in Southwest New Mexico

We decided early in our quest to relocate that we were going to move to a mountainous area in the southern region of the USA. We liked the cool summers and the mild winters here in the Silver City NM area. We moved from Florida in the summer of 2012 and were able to move into our home in the beginning of November of that year.

We do not often have snow here and the weather is great for hiking all year long. When we do have snow in the Mimbres Valley where my husband Guy and I live, we celebrate. The snow does not last very long on the ground except in the higher elevations; we are at 6,000 feet elevation.

Snow Day: View From My Studio
7" X 10" plein air oil
Mimbres New Mexico

The painting shown above was done just after New Year’s Day on an overcast but bright day. I was surprised how the trees and the mountain were affected by the snow and the overcast sky. We usually have red or a rust color in the trees and in the mountain but everything had a pale green cast which I had never seen before.

 I made adjustments to the foreground of the painting by eliminating a shed and a tree in view and substitute this with an uncluttered view of our neighbor’s snow covered lawn and beyond this uncut light yellow ochre grass. I painted this scene while looking out a window in my studio.

Snow at Bear Canyon Lake
9" x 12" plein air oil
Mimbres New Mexico

Here is another Snow Day Painting painted en plein air at Bear Canyon Lake. My husband and I like to go out to hike often while enjoying the cool weather. I was very excited when a friend told us one day recently that the snow was still on the north side of the canyon. I gathered my supplies and made it there in the afternoon. It was a fairly mild day and for most of the afternoon I kept my wind breaker jacket off until the wind picked up when the sun started to set.

Live and learn; after 30 years in Florida I have much to learn and adjust to here in the high desert of Southwest New Mexico.