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OnLine Gallery 2: New Mexico

Española Cottonwood Click on the image above to see a larger version.

Espanola, NM 2007 I’d been wanting to share New Mexico’s inspiring ambiance with some of my friends, so this year I organized a plein air painting trip in September, when New Mexico is at its loveliest. An exhibition at the Mill Atelier in August had given us another reason to go: I would pack up the show and ship it back home. We stayed in two cozy cabins in artist Jan Hart’s home at Ranchito San Pedro in Española, about twenty minutes north of Santa Fe, with access to Jan’s studio. The group consisted of six of us: pastel artists Joan Marie Barringer and Kim Slevin, sculptor Lynda Smith-Bugge, with Raquel Sweeny, Sandy Collins and I working with watercolors. During our stay, Raquel shared some of her unusual techniques for rendering trees and bushes using sticks taken from specific plants, and I demonstrated my plein air approach with pastels. We covered a wide range of activities and areas, from swimming at the local Rec. Center pool to hiking and gallery visits in Santa Fe during one fun-filled week. Among the highlights of our visit were a tour of famous Shidoni Foundry during the pouring of molten bronze, and a glass-blowing demo at a local studio.

The artists at Ranchito San Pedro. Rear, l to r : Raquel, Joan Marie, Jan Hart, Sandy. Front: Elena, Lynda (photo by Kim).	Joan Marie and Kim at Valle Grande on a stormy day.
Sandy painting on the banks of the Chama River.	The artists by the Chama River
Lynda and the group examine the casting molds at Shidoni Foundry.	Elena hiking on Aspen peak.

Elena hiking down the Rio Grande canyon--minutes later, a huge hailstorm broke!

An Artist Residency

Starting in August of 1999, I was granted a fellowship by the Mill Atelier Gallery of Santa Fe, NM, to live and paint there for 3 months. It was wonderful to be master of my own time and space... My casita was an artist’s dream come true, with a beautiful view and privacy. I got to do a lot of exploring, hiking and outdoor sketching. I started out with watercolors, but being rusty, the first were not very satisfactory, and my paint box was so heavy for backpacking, that I switched to pastels for the longer hikes. In the studio, I worked on larger oils. The painting of the Ghost Ranch didn’t start out as a triptych, but to do the scene justice, it had to grow to over 6' wide. I hiked through the mountains with my fellow artist-in-residence, a young man, recent MFA from Arkansas. We visited Serpent Lake, in the northern end of the Pecos Wilderness. It was quite a strenuous climb for me, as the lake is at about 11,500 feet. It was beautiful, the shores covered with wildflowers I’d never seen before. On another solo hike, I met up with a mushroom collector, and he taught me how to identify the edible ones. I collected some, cooked them that night, and they were delicious. At the end of the residency, the Mill Atelier Gallery presents an exhibition of the residents’ works. My exhibit was on view until Jan. 2000 when the show ended.

Elena painting the View of Truchas, photo by Herb Borkland.

September, 2001

Click on the images to see a larger version. Use the arrow controls on each painting's page to move forward or backward through the gallery. If you are interested in purchasing a painting, please contact Elena Maza.

Angel Falls, NM	The Chama River, NM	Big Arsenic Spring

Ghost Ranch Triptych	The Church at Golden, NM	Street in Galisteo

Afternoon in Galisteo, NM	View of Truchas

Ruins of Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon	The Golden Hour at Rancho Jacona	Cholla Cactus

OTHER SANTA FE PAINTINGS
Blue Gate	Santa Fe’s Pink Flamingos	Chamisa	The Golden Hour

All images copyright Elena Maza. Use without permission from the artist is prohibited.

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