Happy Holidays from New Mexico!

 Snowy arroyo at Elena Gallegos.

Very Best Wishes

to All!

Yes, Another Invitation for You….

Old Pueblo, 2012. Original oil, alkyd on gessoed panel. 30" x 30".

Hello, my dear blog Readers in the Albuquerque area,

Yes, I have paintings in another group art show, this one entitled "MERGE"—a juried exhibition sponsored by The Southwest Chapter (includes AZ, NM, UT, NV) of the Society of Layerists in MultiMedia (SLMM).

The exhibit opened to the public at the African American Performing Arts Center at NM Expo (The Fairgrounds) on December 6.

And, this Friday, December 13, is the opening reception of "MERGE" from 6-8pm. Light refreshments will be served.

The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. Please note that it may be necessary to pay for parking ($5) at the Fairgrounds.The exhibit continues thru December 28. The AAPAC is open Tuesday thru Friday,10-5ppm, and Saturday 10-4pm.

The image posted on today's blog is one of three paintings I have in the show. I hope to see you at the opening!

____________________________________________

Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

You're Invited....

Hey, Blog Readers in the Albuquerque area,

If you are looking to take a break from the shopping, gift wrapping, and card writing, why not attend the Holiday Gala event this Saturday evening to benefit the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice.

The evening starts at 6pm and offers great music by Wagogo, homemade Southwest foods to dine on, and all varieties of arts, crafts, and creative endeavors—maybe you'll find the perfect gift for that "hard-to-buy-for" someone still on your holiday list.

I'll be there selling my original paintings, prints, and Painted Ponies. I did this event several years ago. Friendly folks, great music, and wear-what you-want dress code made it a fun evening. (Check the information on the poster for all the details.) I hope to see you there!

____________________________________

Text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Too tempting....for me!

TOP Photo: Boogie Board Jot 4.5 in the package
BOTTOM Photo: MY new Boogie Board Jot 4.5

I started my Christmas shopping last Monday—BEFORE the craziness of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday shopping (which I hope you all survived).

With my $5-off Bed Bath and Beyond coupon in hand, I drove down to my local store to purchase a Boogie Board Jot 4.5 tablet for the 7-year old in our family.

This is a new item from Improv Electronics, and it is soooo cute! It comes in accent colors—red, blue, pink, gray, black—with a snap-on stylus and snap-on protective cover.

The retail is $19.99, but with my coupon it was only $15 plus tax. I bought a red one.

I guess I should have wrapped it up and put the child's name on it when I got home, but I couldn't resist. I opened up the package and started drawing on it. It is just as much fun as my full size Boogie Board Jot 8.5, but smaller, "pocket sized" that will fit in my purse, my plein air paintbox, and will go with me everywhere, I can see.

The contoured shape fits my hand perfectly, and it has the push-button eraser—good for 50,000 "do-overs", quick notes, and reminders. That's a lot of sketch paper, note paper, and Post-Its.

So last Wednesday—BEFORE the craziness of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday shopping—I was back at Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase another red Boogie Board Jot 4.5 for the 7-year old in our family. It's all wrapped up with his name on it, ready to go under the tree. I hope he likes the new Jot 4.5 as much as I do.

My New Online Gallery at Daily PaintWorks

Sunset Strip #20: Lake Howell, FL. Original oil on gessoed wood, 3"x9.5"
SOLD

About a week ago, I decided to join Daily PaintWorks, a website where artists can show their work and interested buyers can peruse and purchase originals done in a variety of traditional media, sizes, and subject matter.

To get started with this new venue, I am auctioning some of my smaller paintings, most with a starting bid of only $10. If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may recognize several of the paintings.

I've already sold two paintings this week ("Real Lemons" and "Sophisticated Lilies") and will be putting several others up for auction over the next few weeks…just in time for holiday gift giving (or holiday art collecting for yourself). I'll also being adding some "Buy It Now" paintings for those of you who prefer instant gratification or don't want to wait for an auction outcome.

If you are reading this while on my blog page (www.CarolAdamec.Blogspot.com), just look to the right hand column of this page and you'll see the heading "My New Online Gallery." Just below this heading is the Daily PaintWorks box with rotating images of my paintings. You can click there to be taken to my Daily PaintWorks gallery page.

If you are reading this via your email, just click on this LINK which will take you to my Daily PaintWorks gallery page.

You can also go to http://www.DailyPaintWorks.com and type in my name Carol Adamec in the "By Artist" box under "Quick Search" at the top of the far left hand column of the home page.

I hope you will take a look at my new online gallery. Thank you and enjoy!

____________________________________

Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

The Long View

Landscape Sketch #8 (San Antonio Oxbow),  2013.
Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6"
(NFS: Artist's Collection)

Besides meeting very nice artists to share an outdoor painting session, the great thing about being in a plein air group is that you get to paint in places that you might never discover on your own. That was the case when I painted with the Monday Painters about a month ago. 

We gathered around 4:30 in the afternoon on the west side of the Rio Grande River on a sandy cliff. Spread out before us was an incredible long view looking to the east. The San Antonio Oxbow is directly below the cliff, and extends to the bosque, speckled with old cottonwoods in various stages of green-to-yellow color changes. 

Beyond that are the treetops of Albuquerque's neighborhoods sloping up to the Sandia Mountains, that were just starting to take on a pink blush of the coming sunset.The light and air were perfectly clear. 

With the sun warm on our backs, we all painted away for the next two hours, enjoying this unique view. A truly fabulous day for plein air painting, and I was pleased with the painting I completed, too.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post. Have a great day.

____________________________________

Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Truth or Beauty?

Landscape Sketch #7 (Nightfall),  2013. Original oil on panel, 4"x6"
(Private Collection)

Most of the time I go out during the day to paint en plein air. However, with the days getting shorter and the light having such a different quality now than during the summer months, I've been painting in the late afternoon.

A few weeks ago, just about 45 minutes before sunset, I drove down the road from home to a pull-off that has a great view of the Sandia Mountains. I set up and quickly painted the mountains while they still had some fading light on them. I intended to wait for moonrise, with the light coming up behind the mountains, to capture the full moon that evening.


I had checked the moonrise time for that day (You really can find out everything on the internet!), which meant waiting another an hour and 40 minutes before I could finish my painting. I had a little lantern to provide light on my palette for mixing paint and seeing my panel. I waited, and waited, and waited. One by one the stars came out, faint blurs of light in the sky until the night deepened. But no moonrise. Hmmmm....

So I packed my gear up, drove home, and again checked the information on the internet. Moonrise was at the time specified, but on the east side of the mountains. The moon did come into view that evening, about 45 minutes later than I expected, but behind the clouds that had rolled in. So my intended painting remained unfinished.

A few days later in the studio, I painted in the sky with a color that appealed to me and added a sprinkling of silver points of starlight that I had seen that night. Not entirely a truthful rending but still a beautiful result, I think.

Thank you for taking a moment to view my blog. Hope your week is off to a great start.

____________________________________

Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Plein Air Fingerpainting

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #6,  2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6"
Private Collection

As I've mentioned before, autumn in New Mexico is truly beautiful. The air is clear and crisp, and this year is especially colorful with all the cottonwoods decked out hues from bright yellow to deep gold.

Knowing that the leaves won't stay on the trees forever, I was itching to get out to plein air paint but had commitments for paintings that required time in my studio all week. Finally, I broke away on a Sunday afternoon and headed for the Sandia Mountains. I got all set up, ready to paint, and realized I had forgotten my paint brushes at home. Ugh!

Going back home was out of the question. The daylight would be gone by the time I made the trip there and back. I scrounged around in my car and came up with one #8 flat brush, a Q tip…and my finger…just enough to get this landscape sketch "painted."

When I got home, I cleaned up a few edges and added a few details. Not bad. I may try this "technique" again.

Thanks for taking a moment to view my blog. Have a great day.

____________________________________

Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Plein Air Evening

Landscape Sketch #5, 2013. Oil, alkyd on 4x6" gessoed panel.
Private Collection

A few weeks ago I joined the Monday plein air painters at Elena Gallegos. It was late in the afternoon, just as the sunset was fading into evening, and the moon was beginning to glow over the Sandia Mountains.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope your weekend is enjoyable.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Los Poblanos Plein Air

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #4, 2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6" Plein Air Landscape Sketch #4, 2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6" I recently joined the Monday Painters group. The group was organized by Jean Kondek, who is also a member of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico and has a studio around the corner from me at the Harwood Art Center. She arranged for us to paint at Los Poblanos Open Space in Albuquerque on Saturday afternoon, October 5.

I hadn't been to this location, even though it's right in town near the Rio Grande, and I've driven by the entrance many times. The land is flat and open, used for organic farming, and has a nice view of the Sandia Mountains, which I very much enjoyed painting that day. 

Thank you for taking a moment to view my blog. Have a good day!

____________________________________

Image and text © Carol L Adamec, 2013

Just Before Sundown...

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #3,  2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6"

Just a short drive from the house (I often ride my bike to this location) is a great view of the Sandia Mountains. So around 5pm on September 25, I jumped in the car with my plein air gear, drove to this location, set up and began painting the view.

"Sandia" in Spanish means "watermelon", which is similar to the deep pink color the granite rock of the Sandia Mountains turns as the sun begins to set. I was waiting for the mountains to take on that rosy glow so I could capture that rich color in my painting; and I was not disappointed.

Amazingly, as the sun began to head below the horizon, a purple shadow crept along the landscape toward the mountain. Within a minute or two, it reached the foothills, ran up the mountain side, and engulfed the entire mountain range in darkness. Quite a transformation!

Thank you for taking a moment to view my blog. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful day.
____________________________________
Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Postcard from New Mexico...

 

The big event in Albuquerque this past week has been the annual Balloon Fiesta. Monday morning I was awakened by the "whoosh" of hot air balloons passing over the house. It was quite a sight, seeing 548 colorful airships in the clear blue morning skies.

___________________________________________

Text & photo ©Carol Adamec, 2013

Another Plein Air View...

Landscape Sketch #2 (Sandia Mts), 2013. Original painting, oil on panel 5x7.

This is another view of the Sandia Mountains, painted on Sunday September 22, between 4-6pm from Elena Gallegos Open Space in Albuquerque. There is already a change in the light, now that it is officially "autumn."

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you are enjoying a great weekend.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Landscape Sketch #2, measuring 5" x 7", is painted in oil on gessoed panel, varnished and ready to frame or display on a small easel. Available for purchase on Daily PaintWorks  Click to Bid

You're Invited...tonight!

This has been a busy week for me, helping to install the Rainbow Artists "Reunion Show" at EXPO New Mexico (the Fairgrounds in Albuquerque.)

There are 118 artworks in the exhibit, created by women artists who are or have been Rainbow Artists members since 1990. It took us two days days just to get the artwork on the walls—a lot of placing, measuring, hammering, straightening, and today, labeling, by the exhibit committee.

I must say, the show looks absolutely wonderful, offering quite a variety of paintings, prints, fabric, weavings, sculptures, collage, and multimedia artworks to enjoy viewing...and most are for sale, too!

Tonight is the opening, from 6-8pm. So if you are in Albuquerque, come by, see the exhibit and meet the artists. The show will be available for viewing through October 26, Tuesday thru Friday, 10-5, and Saturdays, 10-4pm.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

September Plein Air

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #1, 2013, Original oil, alkyd on panel, 4"x6"

Ahhhhh, September in New Mexico—a perfectly lovely time of year to be outdoors, painting in plein air. 

Over the past few weeks, I've taken to painting in the late afternoon, as the shadows and clouds provide more dramatic light and color variations. I'm working small (4" x 6") and keeping it loose. This is a view of the Sandia Mountains, painted from Elena Gallegos Open Space in Albuquerque.

Thanks for visiting my blog and hope your week is off to a great start.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Landscape Sketch #1, measuring 4" x 6", is painted in oil on gessoed panel, varnished and ready to frame or display on a small easel. Available for purchase on ETSY at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com

Boogie Board Talk

"Ti Plant Graphic" 2013, Boogie Board RIP drawing

Last Monday (September 16), I gave an informal talk/demo to the Rainbow Artists, a local women's art collective which supports visual artists, as well as writers and those engaged in other art-related fields.

My talk was about the artwork I create on the Boogie Board eWriter. So I took my three Boogie Board tablets—the original 8.5 LCD one I purchased over a year ago, the Boogie Board Jot, and the Boogie Board RIP—and samples of the work I created on each one for my "show and tell" narrative.

I passed the Boogie Board tablets around so everyone could try one out, and explained how I start my "digital printmaking process" with a drawing on the Boogie Board.

Since I hadn't used the Boogie Board RIP very much and didn't have much time to create an elaborate piece of artwork on it, I did a quick graphic rendering of a Ti Plant (from the image I developed back in September 2012) and added some color in Adobe Photoshop. I think this graphic might look nice on a t-shirt, What do you think?

If you would like more information about the Rainbow Artists, visit: http://www.rainbowartists.com/.

If you would like more information about Boogie Board eWriters, visit: http://improvelectronics.com/

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. Have a great weekend.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and images ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Paint Out in Socorro: Days 2 & 3

"Looking West, Route 60", Oil on panel, painted in plein air

I woke up in Albuquerque to a steady rain and socked in skies on Day 2 of the paint out. I didn't want to get out of bed, much less drive the 86 miles to Socorro. Fortunately, the start of the paintout was postponed for 2 hours, which gave me plenty of time to make the trip down I-25 to meet up with the rest of the painters around 11:00am. 

It's a rare day in New Mexico that the sun doesn't shine at least for a little while. So by the time I drove out to the Box Canyon area, the clouds were giving way to patches of blue and light on the landscape. Today's post features my painting done on Saturday of the view looking west from The Box.

On Sunday, Day 3 of the Socorro paint out, there was a 2-hour Quick Draw session. A Quick Draw is a challenge to complete a plein air painting in just 2 hours. Between 9:30 and 10am, plein air painters were scurrying all around the Socorro Plaza trying to find a "good spot" and set up their paint gear somewhere under a portico or overhang, since the skies were dark and threatening again.

At 10am, a horn blasted and the painting began. About half way through the Quick Draw, it began raining, but everyone just kept painting. Precisely at noon, the horn blasted again, and the painting ceased. Then we all gathered outside the Vertu Gallery, located on the north side of the Plaza, to show off what we each had accomplished in the two hours. It was truly amazing what the Quick Draw winners had done—very lovely work!

After a leisurely lunch break, all the artists returned to the Vertu Gallery at 2pm for the opening reception for a show of the plein air paintings completed during the 3-day paint out. It was nice to see everyone's work, to talk shop, and chat with gallery visitors who came to see the exhibit. Awards were given to the three best paintings, along with an honorable mention. 

The exhibit will continue through October 15. For more information, you can check out the gallery's website: http://www.vertuarts.com

Many thanks to Karyn DeBont who organized the Socorro Paint Out. You did a great job, Karyn!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and images ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Paint Out in Socorro: Day 1

Top image: Photograph of The Box Canyon
Bottom image: "Break in the Storm" original plein air painting

After a four-week visit to Florida, I arrived back in New Mexico just in time for the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico (PAPNM) Paint Out in Socorro. 

Socorro is located about 80 miles south of Albuquerque via I-25, home to 8,800 residents, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and some wonderful scenery. 

The 3-day gathering of artists was held this past week, September 12-14, with PAPNM members from all over the state—from Farmington to Silver City—showing up to capture the local views in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and silk dyes. Although heavy rain greeted us every morning, there were interludes of lovely sunshine and fantastic cloud formations rolling over the mountains. Spirits were high and it was a fun and productive event for everyone. 

Thursday morning was the first day of the paint out and we all headed out to The Box Canyon, 8 miles west on Rt 60. This site can be viewed from both ends, a great place for painting rock cliffs and boulders. It was a little cool and very overcast; but each artist picked a spot, set up, and began working. 

After awhile—just for a few minutes—the clouds layers separated to show blue sky and the sun broke through to light up the scenery. I painted fast and furiously to add dashes of sunlight to my painting. Today's post shows a photo of The Box Canyon area, and below it, my painting completed onsite. The painting is available on my Daily PaintWorks site:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/carol-adamec/break-in-the-storm/192680

Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy your day.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and images ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

In the Quiet Place #4

In the Quiet Place #4, 2013. Original oil on gessoed Italian canvas panel, 6" x 8"

Since my last post, we've had a goodly amount of rain in New Mexico, which has really greened up the landscape.

Last weekend I was back at my favorite painting spot in Bernalillo, where I spent several hours enjoying the view of the mountains and completing this painting.

Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy your day.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

In the Quiet Place #4, measuring 6" x 8", is painted in oil on a gessoed Italian panel, varnished and ready to frame or display on a small easel. Available for purchase on ETSY at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com

To the Quiet Place #3

In the Quiet Place, 2013. Original oil on linen panel, painted en plein air.

Due to the long drought and the potential for wildfires throughout New Mexico, most public lands, open spaces, and recreation sites have been closed this summer. And those are just the places plein air artists go to paint outdoors. 

Fortunately, one of my favorite locations, Coronado State Monument, is still open to visitors. So off I went to Bernalillo on Wednesday morning, via the pre-1937 Route 66, enjoying a sunny, pleasant drive to spend a few hours working en plein air.

A few hours later, I was glad that I had chosen a small 4"x6" panel to paint on, when a big plop of rain splashed on my palette and a deep rumble sounded from the gathering clouds. Fortunately, the painting was nearly completed when I closed up my paintbox and hurried to my car as the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. The brewing storm cut loose as I was driving home.

Living in the Southwest one quickly learns that you never complain about rain in the desert.  It was a good day. 

Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy your day.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

To the Quiet Place #3 , measuring 4" x 6", is painted in oil on a linen panel, varnished and ready to frame or display on a small easel. Available for purchase on ETSY at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com.