Route 66 Exhibit continues...

Lee Marmon: Acoma Mission in Snow, 1958, silver gelatin photograph.

Today’s post features one of my favorite photographs by Lee Marmon: Acoma Mission in Snow.

Acoma Pueblo is located atop a 365 foot mesa, about 60 miles west of Albuquerque, and has been inhabited by the Acoma People for over 800 years. The Spanish discovered this pueblo village in 1540 and began building the mission church, San Esteban del Rey, in 1629.

For Lee Marmon, Acoma was only 20 miles “down the road” from his home in Laguna Pueblo, and a place where he often took photographs of the people and their surroundings.

This photograph and six other classic black and white images by Lee Marmon are part of the exhibit Then & Now: Rediscovering Route 66 exhibit at the KiMo Theatre Art Gallery thru June 25. 

Viewing hours are Wed -- Sat 11-8pm, and Sun 11am-3pm. Access to the Gallery is via the KiMo Theatre Ticket Office, 423 Central Ave NW at the corner of 5th.

Stop by to see the show. It’s free!
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Text ©2017 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Photograph ©Lee Marmon. Used with permission.

Acoma Revisited

Acoma Fragment 1
Original, oil on panel
10" x 4"
SOLD

Many thanks to those who encouraged me to pursue completing "Sitting on the Fence" --the painting I blogged about last Thursday. I worked on it this weekend. It's still "stuck in the middle" but I haven't given up on it yet!

In the meantime, I completed another small painting inspired by a piece of Acoma Indian pottery. Yes, I am still fascinated by the diverse combinations and intricacies that are formed out of basic patterns and colors. Even seemingly simple shapes like these have a particular rhythm dependent on the line, shape, and color used.

I first painted the background white, and it was just awful! After trying out several mixtures--some too red, some too yellow, some too brown--I finally got to this color which I am happy with.

Hope you have a good Monday. Thanks for taking a look. See you Thursday.
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Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Mini-Abstraction

Red Fragment 1, 2008

Original, mixed media on panel
3.5" x 5" (approx)
Private Collection

Good morning, Dear Readers,

I hope all of you were fortunate to enjoy a festive and filling Thanksgiving dinner, and that the serious shoppers amongst us got the best bargains on Black Friday, too.

It was a busy Thanksgiving weekend for me, moving to a different studio on the second floor of the Harwood Art Center. The new space is better suited for my painting, having lovely color balanced, track lighting, and fewer windows (less heat and bright sunlight).

The bonus is a view to the West, which has already provided a gorgeous sunset of ever-changing colors over the West Mesa. (Did anyone else see the "fingernail moon" in Friday's night sky?) I am already looking forward to future evening light shows from my studio window.

While cleaning up and clearing out my old studio, I found a small panel I had underpainted with burnt sienna. I had just enough spare time to work up this "mini-abstraction" based on a small piece of Acoma Indian redware pottery. The white lines were made by scratching through the burnt sienna underpainting, down to the white gesso primer.

Even though the painting is small in size, I think the strength of the shapes gives the image a much larger feeling. And, it was fun to do, too!

Thanks for taking a look at today's image. See you Thursday. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Making the Deadline

Old Acoma
by Carol Adamec

Original, mixed media on gessoed wood panel
12" x12"
Donation to Harwood Art Center

Most of last week was spent creating the painting "Old Acoma" that is featured on today's post, to meet Friday's deadline. This piece is being donated to the Harwood Art Center for its 12x12 fundraiser on December 5, 6-9pm.

I had intended to submit a landscape, but I wasn't feeling "inspired" to paint one. So I turned (again) to the pottery of Acoma. My friend has several pieces of this pueblo's pottery, and I once again drew upon these wonderful designs as my inspiration.

For those of you in or near Albuquerque, you are invited to the Harwood event , which is free and open to the public. The evening will feature food and two galleries of 12x12s painted by area artists, with each artwork available for purchase for $144, going to the first buyer who pays/writes a check. Be there early to see them all and pick the one you really want! From what I've seen, there are some real beauties.

Many thanks for taking a moment to read today's post. See you Friday. ———————————————————————————————————————————
Image & text © 2008 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Finding Inspiration on the Shelf

Carol Adamec
Acoma I
Original, mixed media
on gessoed panel
14" x 6" approx.
SOLD



Below:
Acoma pottery








Last Saturday I had hoped to paint outdoors. However, the day was a windy and rainy—great weather for desert dwellers, but not so great for plein air painters. Still determined to at least begin a painting, I looked around the house for subject matter.

On a shelf in the living room sits a wonderful piece of Acoma pottery. (Acoma, one of the pueblos to the west of Albuquerque, is also known as "Sky City, since it sits on a mesa. It has a very interesting history and is still occupied today. A must see when you visit New Mexico.)

For some time, I've admired the design made of crisp line work and dense blacks on a white ground. Rather than do a "portrait" of the pottery, I decided to "deconstruct" the design—that is, use the various elements to create an abstract composition.

First I laid out the composition and design on a gessoed panel in pencil using a ruler and compass. Since the Acoma artist painted the pottery piece freehand, I challenged myself to do the inking by hand...and it was a challenge! Although my design is more precise, the original Acoma pottery painting is done with ease and flow...a characteristic that I would like to develop in my own work.

So Saturday was a good art day, finding inspiration—and a challenge—on the shelf.

Many thanks for taking a moment to read today's post. See you Friday. ———————————————————————————————————————————
Image & text ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.