Susan McCullough Plein Air

Santa Fe Plein Air

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 22:17:00 +0000

"Clouds Rolling In" - Second place- Plein Air Santa Fe- 2013

Well as I am getting ready for the PAAC paint out at Crested Butte, I thought I would report on the Santa Fe Plein Air event.

It was hot and dry but thoroughly enjoyable. I think I had so much fun because Peggy Immel and I got to paint together for a week and we stayed at Nancy and Horoshi's beautiful home in Santa Fe.
Besides that, the event was extremely well run and that always makes the trip worthwhile.

I also had fun because I won an award- My painting "Clouds Rolling In" won second place-yay!!

David Montgomery took a picture of me standing in front of my paintings...

Thanks to gary Kim for allowing the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico to sponsor this event from his Gallery on East Alameda Street in Santa Fe- just of few blocks east of the Governors Inn.

Well it's time to get packing for the next trip- I know that Crested Butte will be beautiful- Hubby and I went 4 wheeling through there this last weekend.. thw wildflowers are gorgeous!

After the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Thu, 30 May 2013 01:36:00 +0000

My painting from the previous post....

The San Luis Valley usually looks rather dusty in the spring due to the high winds but the colors were saturated due to the rain from the day before.

This painting threw a few difficulties my way. I was truly hoping that the leaves would have budded out by now. Trying to achieve the look of branches that are thick with pre-buds, yet are still bare was interesting. The branches were almost a green tinge but barely perceptible to the naked eye. I also wanted a look of light on the trees as well .

Every painting has it's own challenges- on to the next one!

Plein Air and Airplanes

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:03:00 +0000

Plein air painting can get rather exciting if you are being buzzed by an airplane over and over. Peggy Immel, Coni Grant and I went painting along the Rio Grande River while my hubby and Steve Immel were flying around so that Steve could use his photography skills to get some great shots from the plane. Below- a picture of the guys doing a fly by...

Painting at the Ranch.....

The view was a good one for painting. Although the trees had not budded out yet, the grasses were green and the willows had a nice soft pickish red color in the distance. The view.....

I will post the results of this attempt tomorrow..........

Solo show at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:05:00 +0000

I will be working hard today getting food ready for my solo show at the hospital in Alamosa. The show will last from 4:30 to 7:30 pm at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center in the Artrium. We will probably have way too much food but that is better than not enough.

I hired Erin, my daughter, to help so it should be a lot of fun- I am not looking forward to hauling everything to the second floor again- very time consuming...

I will be also hauling up about 13 more paintings for the show to add a little variety for the people who have looked at the same paintings for a couple of months now. Well. I do hope people will be able to attend as it is snowing outside today and that can put a bit of a damper on things...

Painting Autumn when the Weather just isn't that Great

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 21:04:00 +0000

This last week was the Sangre Arts Guild plein air painting show in Westcliff, Colorado. What started out as a beautiful event turned rather cold and well, frigid. Coni and I and Curt painted the first day in a beautiful spot by Curt's home on Macey Creek but by that afternoon that clouds had rolled in and it was necessary to paint one of thosr "cloudy" days- something I'm not used to living in the San Luis Valley- sunshine central.

By the 2nd day of the event, a cold front had moved in and was such a baby - as I have painted winter many times before, guess I just wasn't acclimated yet? Or maybe I'm turning into a big weinie? Well, the awards were announced from the juror Stephen Datz and I won an honorable mention and a $100 gift certificate for my painting " Autumn Brilliance on a Grey Day"- below. Coni won third place with her painting "Indian Summer" so kudos to her!

I missed the PAPNM show in Albuquerque this weekend due to the Westcliff event but received another $100 award from the Rio Grande Arts Association for my painting "Sunset at Nancy's"

Things are starting to wind down in the plein air world in Colorado right now. A storm is beating at my windows and doors right now and the thunder is pounding with great frequency. I have a show at the Regional Medical Center on December 1 so will need to start painting some studio pieces anyway.

Art for Endangered Landscapes

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 01:09:00 +0000

Art for Endangered Landscapes
San Francisco Creek

Saturday morning I attended the event "Art for Endangered Landscapes" up Frisco Creek south of Del Norte, Colorado. We painted the area to bring awareness to the fact that there is a plan to drill for oil with a possibility of fracking in this area. The local community is concerned with the notion - especially the possibility that it could affect their water.

David Montgomery was the promoter of this event and it was quite fun. Coni and I painted in the morning and the residents served us a delicious lunch.

Western Light III Show

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:34:00 +0000

We had a beautiful show for us at Earthwood Collections Gallery in Estes Park. Ann and Ron Wilcocks do everything first class and this show was no exception. I was very happy to have sold a larger painting - "Early Morning at Lily Lake" to Sy and Julia Shahid from The Dallas area. Sy was planning on putting this painting in the Heard museum. No matter where they decide to hang it, I'm glad to know it will have a good home. They were a very nice couple.

"Early Morning at Lily Lake"
SOLD

Peggy Immel talking to Terry Sanchez- with David Montgomery
talking to someone in the background.

Ann and Ron treated us so well the whole time we were in Estes Park. They invited us to a small artist party at their home with a barbecue and took the whole group to lunch at a great little Thai place and took us out for coffee Thursday morning. They definitely treat their artists like family. I was blown away by their kindness and am so glad to be a part of their stable of artists.

I was also able to see my great friends Lucy and Jerry Rey (collectors as well) and Jim and Ann Rogers- great people- it was so good to see them and catch up from last year.

We went to Peggy's show Saturday night-at the Cultural Arts Center. Peggy's work looked beautiful on the walls- it was a nice show. Peggy won an award- woohoo! We left for some supper at a great little Mexican food place close to out motel- and took off Sunday for home.

Loch Vale

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 14:57:00 +0000

Loch Vale

Well I finally was fortunate enough to make the trip up to the Loch. This is something I have been wanting to do for years. The hike is rather easy but is 3.1 miles up and if you are carrying a soltek easel in your pack among other things, you better be in decent shape to make the trip up and back. Oh and the hike is beautiful! Alberta Falls was on the way and was simply amazing. We reached the Loch at about 10 am and set up the easels and I started to paint right away. Dave played his flute for awhile- nice! and the small fattest in the world chipmunks tried to raid the backpacks.

Me, Dawn Normali, David Montgomery, and Coni Grant

Yours truly and Coni Grant

Coni and Dawn left for awhile and one chipmunk was trying to raid a baggie of nuts so I hid them inside of Dawn's backpack. He just climbed right in and started cleaning house. I ran over and he wouldn't leave so I smacked him on his hindquarters with the back of my paintbrush and he finally resigned himself to defeat. When we ate lunch, he was back in full force- I gave him a cracker- I guess I was feeling a little guilty for popping him with my brush. I have never seen such aggressive chipmunks EVER!

This is a small study that I made of the Loch- didn't spend much time on it - just enough to get color notes to use for future larger paintings. The hike was just as beautful going down and the whole time I felt like a turtle that was about to tip over.

My web page is www.susanmccullough.com - I have many paintings on this site- check it out!

Painting and Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:28:00 +0000

Thursday morning Ron Wilcocks from Earthwood Gallery took all of us out for coffee and afterwards we were to paint downtown. Everyone ended up painting close to Kind Coffee as there was a park area with bridge, river, and stream. Again it was cloudy and rather dark as I painted under the bridge- I really should have named this painting "Troll under the Bridge" as David Montgomery, who was standing on the bridge, kept referring to us as the trolls.

Some wonderful collectors of mine, Jerry and Lucy Rey from Texas stopped to visit me- I just love them - they are like family, always rooting for you whether you deserve it or not. I can't even remember what we did Thursday afternoon- I guess I need to take some memory pills.

Copeland Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:52:00 +0000

Copeland Falls 9x12

David taking a break and looking at the view

Peggy and Coni painting up a storm

Rocky Mountain National Park has a plethora of beautiful falls to paint.... Alberta Falls is very well known but Copeland Falls both lower and upper, although not as magnificent as Alberta, are still very nice falls. They are very good for painting as the is enough greenery in the background to give relief from all of the rock in the foreground. I had wished that it had been a little sunnier on this day but I tried to take advantage of the sun when it came out to get all of the highlights on the falls. It was a nice hike up to the falls - here are some pictures of the "gang"....

More Estes Park

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:54:00 +0000

We had decided that on Tuesday we would go to Morraine Park to paint whether it was smoky or not but it really was a beautiful day. I painted this 12 x 16 right by the bridge. The elk run around this part of the park and act more like cattle than any type of wild animal.

In the afternoon we went to MacGregor park but didn't have enough time to get one painted by 4:00 pm- closing time. I tried to paint but ended up wiping it down- when you paint a building it is always good to give yourself adaquate time.

Back from Estes Park

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:47:00 +0000

Sprague Lake - Cloudy Morning 14x11

It was time to head out for The Western Light III show, sponsored by Earthwood Gallery and although we sent all of the work to be juried into the show ahead of time, we planned on painting for a week at Rocky Mountain National Park. We consisted of Coni Grant, David Montgomery and Peggy Immel who was painting for another event, The Plein Air Rockies event.

We usually go to Sprague Lake first thing on Monday Morning and this year was no exception although the weather wasn't cooperating as we had hoped. After we arrived to a VERY smoky scene and realizing that the smoke ( most likely from Washington and Utah fires) and clouds might be there to stay, got busy painting. Eldon Warren came up that morning as well - it was nice to see him. After finishing this painting I decided to do a painting of something not so distant so that the smoke would not be as evident.

Beaver Ponds on a Cloudy Day 9x12

So I painted some Beaver ponds close to the Sprague Lake parking lot by Peggy. The sky was so light that there was basically no color- just a very light grey. This was a difficult scene to paint- there so much going on in the scene that I had to eliminate a lot of the willows in the pond just to make it read. Some I had to eliminate after painting them in - which is evidence of the old adage, if your painting isn't working, see what elements you can eliminate, instead of adding. Usually it works much better for the overall composition. I was hoping the next day would be a little sunnier.....

The Cuchara Art Show

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:54:00 +0000

This weekend the Cuchara Art Show will take place in the small town of Cuchara, located about 20 miles southwest of La Veta, Colorado. I was allowed to put 5 paintings in the show so.... decided to put the first place winner of the La Veta Plein air event- "Early Morning on the Western Spanish Peak."

For those who love the look of Taos and the old churches in the surrounding areas, I added Church at Pilar- one of my faves actually. What a sweet little church.

I painted this at the Salida Plein Air festival. It was a view of Yale Mountain with the afternoon shadows rolling in- it won an honorable mention in the Colorado Mountain Plein Air Event.

"Riverside View"- painted in Estes Park at the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Event in 2011.

"Evening At Monarch Lake"- 24x30 A view of Monarch Lake, located north of Winter Park, Colorado.

It should be a good event- they are a very organized group of ladies. If you are in the area- stop by and check out the show.

A New Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 02:40:00 +0000

I have picked up a new gallery to show my work. It is called the Gallery at the Windsor, a gorgeous gallery, and I am very pleased to be in such company of very talented artists. Located in Del Norte, Colorado, stop in to see my work- the painting above, "A New Season" 12x16 is in the gallery along with 6 other paintings.

I will be taking off to the La Veta Plein Air Event for a three day paint out and competition. The painting will only be on Friday and Saturday but David and I will try to get over there on Thursday to pick out some good painting spots. I am looking forward to it.

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:59:00 +0000

Taos - Plein Air Artists Colorado

Coni and I will be taking off tomorrow to the PAAC annual May paintout in Taos. There will be a large group of people this year and I expect the blossoms will still look pretty good as they were beautiful last Friday.. There will be an addition to the paint out this year- the annual juried PAAC show will be held at Wilder Nightingale on May 5th, 5-8pm.

Trees in Threes 14x11

Rising Moon 9x12

Both of my paintings shown above were juried into the show- hoping for a good crowd!

New Show at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Here are three paintings that we all painted from roughly the same view. This is the overlook of the Arkansas River by Salida.

Dave Coni and I will be having a show at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center on February 10 from 4 to 7 pm- yikes! That is today! It should be a good show- we have a lot of work displayed and will have a table full of miniatures as well as TONS of food! We always do and nobody leaves our art show hungry. I hope to see lots of people there and it should be great fun.

Many Shows

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:26:00 +0000

Well when it rains it pours and I guess this saying applies to art shows as there will be more events than I can attend this weekend.

If you are in California and close to Costa Mesa, the Randy Higbee 6 Squared show will be this weekend - I will have two paintings in this show.

St Francis Church
6x6

The Wilder Nightingale "Hearts and Stars" benefit will be this weekend in Taos, New Mexico - consisting of many miniatures - I will have one small painting in this show- Wilder Nightingale puts on a wonderful party and I am sad that I will not be there for it.

Then I will be participating in the Holiday Art Festival in Monte Vista and since I helped organize the event, I feel as if I should stay around to make sure it runs smoothly- hopefully we will have a big crowd. This will not be a miniature show so I will have some large paintings in this event.

Drop by one of these events and enjoy the food and company - there will be great art at all three locations.

6 inch Squared Show

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 02:01:00 +0000

The Randy Higbee Gallery is sponsoring a 6 Inch Squared Show and these two paintings were juried into the show. The Top one is entitled Mountain Sunrise and the the bottom one is entitled Morning Light.

The Randy Higbee Gallery is in Costa Mesa, California and the show will run from December 3- December 23.

I am trying to get paintings ready for a few miniature shows that will be going on in December. The Hearts and Stars show will be at my gallery, Wilder Nightingale in Taos, NM on December 3, and the Monte Vista Art Festival will also be December 3 in downtown Monte Vista- I will try to do a little of both but it might prove to be difficult.

Also, David Montgomery, Coni Grant and I will be having a show at the Salida Steamplant in downtown Salida, - reception will be on December 16.

I also will have a painting in the CAC Holiday show in Estes Park, Colorado- it will be November 26 through December 31.

There are a lot of shows going on right now- many of them miniature shows which makes art quite affordable- the perfect time for someone that wants to start collecting art. The prices are lower because of the small size - a great way to get one's feet wet.

Bison at the Zapata

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Bison at the Zapata
To purchase, Click here
5x7

This small painting was done from the Zapata Ranch at the base of the Sand Dunes- it has very thick paint strokes on it- that is what I love about the 8 ply illustration board with Shellac on it.... the paint adheres so wonderfully- makes painting a joy. I would like to be able to find a surface that is larger that could mimic these smaller ones but haven't been able to yet. If I paint on anything larger than an 11x14 it starts to warp...

I have been working on some larger studio paintings- mostly for my gallery in Taos, will post soon.

Aspen Trunks

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:25:00 +0000

Aspen Trunks
6x6
Daily Paintworks

Fall Paintings

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Fall in La Garita
16x12
View this on Daily paintworks
Daily Paintworks

River Ranch Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:56:00 +0000

River Ranch Reflections
9x12
Daily Paintworks

A Busy fall

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:39:00 +0000

Red Chevy
6x8
POSTED ON DAILY PAINTWORKS

I painted yesterday in Taos with Peg Immel and part of the Thursday painter outdoor group- the other half went to Truchas to paint. The group was painting at the Martinez Hacienda and the colors were wonderful so we set up and painted looking towards the east? I think... Well here is the painting...

I took Peg her paintings from the Estes Park show and picked paintings up from the Millicent Rogers Museum gallery PAPNM show- I sold my "Standing Alone" painting from Millicent -woohoo!

OF course for luch- where we we go?- none other than the Guadalajara Grill- what a treat.

I was privileged to meet some of the ladies of the painting group- Sarah and another Peggy- was disappointed that Kemper and Ken went to Truchas. Peg and I visited a few Taos Galleries- Total Arts (of course) we can't pass up on it... and a new gallery called Copper Moon?? ( I think that is the name )

a nice little gallery and of course Wilder Nightingale where Peg and I both have our paintings on display. We visited with Rob Nightingale for awhile and then I took off for the 2 hour trip home with David's and my paintings and two poinsettias for Coni from Peg, two gorgeous scarves from Peg as gifts for Coni and I from Peg's trip to France, and my painting gear with a few assorted boxes. A car full. I always have fun going to Taos- it is a treat and the drive is an easy one- there is never that much traffic to deal with.

The Bunny

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:45:00 +0000

I have posted this painting on Daily Paintworks for sale. It is 5x7 and to view it on paintworks, click here. I have been painting fall like crazy- you feel that I owe it to mother nature to get out there and try to capture the beauty when it is in the height of it's glory -if I don't I feel guilty.

This is a painting I finished during the Salida paintout. The view is from Cottonwood Lake, west of Buena Vista. We were lucky to find a place out of the wind... It was blowing pretty hard that day.

Antelope

noreply@blogger.com (Susan McCullough) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:25:00 +0000

Antelope
6x8

There is an abundance of antelope in the San Luis Valley. They can be seen by the San Dunes, and around the outer edges of the Valley closer to the cover of mountainous terrain. This one was seen by La Garita- it looks a little surprised at getting it's picture taken- This may be purchased on Daily Paintworks by clicking here