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I have been considering painting animals lately. Studying and drawing birds kept me enthralled in younger years. All of those pieces now live in lovely homes, and my focus has been on capturing the spirit of the outdoors in paint and canvas for years.

All along, I have been involved with horses, dogs, and cats. My neighbors have sheep, goats, and chickens. Deer, elk, bobcat, coyotes, mountain lions, rabbits, and a multitude of other animals live around me.

They call to me with their beauty and spirit, and the opportunity to turn my artistic attention their way has come from a friend's desire to have a painting of a rooster in her kitchen. I dodged it at first, and found a lovely painting in a gallery. "Why don't you paint one?" was the answer that is spurring me on. 

Carolyn, right down the road, used to have a wicked rooster. I called, and things have changed. That old boy is gone; the new rooster is gorgeous, and takes good care of his hens.

Yesterday was a cold afternoon, with a wonderful silvery gold light. A delicate high cloud cover softened the sunlight on winter's pale colors.

The resident young peacock followed me around as I looked for the rooster. I found him with some of the ladies, standing tall and outlined with sunlight. Perfect. He spent some time looking grand, and then decided it was time for he and the flock to run. End of the day's session, but I got what I needed.

We'll see how my experience with the ever-shifting light on the landcape will help me in capturing the elusive character and beauty of a living, breathing creature.

And as usual, inspiration for other paintings and drawings are already crowding in.

To the easel...

As you drive into Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico, an old cabin sits in a high spot along the road. Left over from a movie set, it has a 360 view of the "Piedre Lumbre" - valley of the shining stone. 

From here, I look across Abiquiu Lake toward the Pedernal, Chicoma, and Polvadera Peak. I've hiked up in that territory, and love looking at this horizon across the lake. 

As I turn, I feast on views of the golden and rose colored mesas of Ghost Ranch. Cloud shadows drift across them, illluminating canyons and layers invisible during full sunlight.

Eventually, my eyes land on Orphan Mesa, standing on its own away from the line of mesas behind it. 

All of these places are beautiful to my eyes, and challenging to paint. The colors are intricate, the light constantly shifting as the sun moves through the heavens and clouds mysteriously appear. 

One morning I went to paint, hoping for sunlight, only to discover a line of cloud moving up from behind the Pedernal. (This was a favorite mesa of Georgia O'Keeffe's; she is quoted as saying that if she painted it enough, God would give it to her). The light was unusually soft and gentle, even as the clouds were filled with potential stormy winds and rain. Of everything I was surrounded with, this had to be painted today. 

I did 2 small paintings before the light was gone. Going out to paint is often about being flexible. I'd wanted to work on a large canvas I'd begun looking across the lake; however, these small gems were my gift for the day.