WORD PAINTINGS #149 – PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION
14 May 2025 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico – You could say that I’m a Dreamer – but I’m not the only one! My forevertime favorite poem “Dreamkeeper” by Langston Hughes…. Bring me all of your dreams You dreamer. Bring me all of your Heart melodies That I may wrap them In a blue-cloud cloth Away […]
WORD PAINTINGS #148 – OUT OF MY MIND
WORD PAINTINGS #147 – CELEBRATING STILLNESS
Studio #125 – BESIDE STILL WATERS (Rio Grande at Pilar, New Mexico) – NEW! 24″x30″ Original Oil on Belgian Linen, framed in gold with Linen Liner. Now available at McLarry Fine Art – Santa Fe. 4 December 2024 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Oh my, hasn’t this been an interesting year? Felt numb after the […]
WORD PAINTINGS #146 – FEAR, UNCERTAINTY AND DOUBT
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a manipulative propaganda tactic used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics, polling, and cults. FUD is generally a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubious or false information, and is a manifestation of the appeal to fear – Wikipedia Even though cable newscasters tell us we have […]
WORD PAINTINGS #145 – – GONE TO SANCTUARY
Llano Quemado, New Mexico “Forward and backward I have gone and for me it has been an immense journey…..Perhaps there is no meaning in it at all, the thought went on inside of me,save that of the journey itself, so far as men can see. It has altered with the chances of life, and the […]
WORD PAINTINGS #144 – GUATEMALA 1991 PART V – TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
Bearers of Light – Easter 1991 -Chichicastenango, Guatemala (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life) – Had been angry with Anthony Bourdain ever since I heard the announcement of his suicide. What a waste! He had it all. Truth is he had seen it all and finally the world […]
WORD PAINTINGS #143 – GUATEMALA 1991 PART IV – INCIDENTS AT COPAN
5 May 2024 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) It is a mystery to me why this past Easter Season brought back so many vivid memories of my trip to Guatemala… the magnificent processions, the colorful village life, the ever present sense of danger. This past month I have read most of The Blindfold’s Eye by Sister […]
WORD PAINTINGS # 142 – GUATEMALA PART III – CIVIL WAR
The pace of this trip was exhausting. Prior to heading for the Friday Market in Solola and Lake Atitlan we had spent a night at Posada de Belen. Damp dark sleeping room – the courtyard where Sister Ortiz had been kidnapped – my first hint that this was far more than a photo trip for […]
WORD PAINTINGS #141 – GUATEMALA 1991 PART II – EASTER SUNDAY IN CHICHICASTENANGO
“A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep”. Remembering that day in 1956 when teachers Ms. Schaefer and Ms. Flynn regaled my Spanish class with colorful stories of their trip to Guatemala. Their excitement about spending Easter Sunday in an exotic-sounding place called Chichicastenango was joyful!!! Chills, goosebumps, their excitement was […]
WORD PAINTINGS #140 – GUATEMALA 1991 – SEMANA SANTA PART I
February 1991 – Listening to Joseph the Starwatcher while painting my Taos studio, I heard an ad from the Center for Anthropological Studies announcing a group trip through Guatemala. Having just sold a large canvas at my Santa Fe gallery, I thought “Aha, this is my chance to get some good photographs for a new […]
WORD PAINTINGS #139 – A MAGPIE FUNERAL ON SANTISTEVAN LANE
WORD PAINTINGS #139 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned about Art and Life) A MAGPIE FUNERAL ON SANTISTEVAN LANE 29 October 2023 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – 3AM Friday – Moonshadows on the wall in my bedroom – the Hunter’s Moon. Lifted the shade and the brilliant orb, low on the horizon […]
WORD PAINTINGS #138 – METAMORPHOSIS
WORD PAINTINGS #138 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned about Art and Life)- METAMORPHOSIS ….. “Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life,the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate.’ Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell […]
WORD PAINTINGS #137 – SEPTEMBER SONG
WORD PAINTINGS #137 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned About Art and Life) – SEPTEMBER SONG SEPTEMBER SONG (Vadito, New Mexico) – http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-donna-clair.html?page=1 1 September 1939 – The infamous day in history when Hitler invaded Gdansk, Poland. Joined Ancestry last year and found that many of my relatives were born and lived […]
WORD PAINTINGS #136 – ART GODS AND LIFE ARROWS
HOLY FAMILY WITH FOUR SAINTS AND A FEMALE DONOR – Antonio Rimpata 1509-1531 WORD PAINTINGS # 136 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Life and Art) 28 August 2023 – Art Gods and Life Arrows ! Reunion! How amazing that this image came back into my life after I saw the […]
WORD PAINTINGS #135 – STORMY WEATHER
WORD PAINTINGS #135 (How I came to New Mexico and Learned about Life and Art) 19 August 2023 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Remnants of a HURRICANE are headed our way! The outer bands of rain are predicted for sometime tomorrow. The last major storm headed through Mexico and the California Coast 84 years […]
WORD PAINTINGS #134 – DREAMS OF DISTANT PLACES!
13 July 2023 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) As I approached the bedroom window this morning my little red fox streaked by in her hurry to go places! A huge layer of dark storm clouds hung over the distant mountains called Tres Orejas. Across West Romero Road my neighbor released his flock of doves for their […]
WORD PAINTINGS #133 – WILDERNESS GATE
Word Paintings #133 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life) – WILDERNESS GATE 3 June 2023 – A peaceful sunny Saturday morning. Waking up from one of my “fugues” again, preparing to start early today. Always feel a little guilty once I come out of this form of hibernation. Some […]
WORD PAINTINGS #132 – ITS RAINING MEN!!
WORD PAINTINGS # 132 (How I came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life – ITS RAINING MEN!! 13 May 2023 – First thing Monday Morning Sheriff Montoya knocked on my door with some ominous-looking papers in his hand. Whew – he wasn’t looking for me! Wrong house and got back into […]
WORD PAINTINGS #131 – UNCOMPETITIVE PURPOSEFULNESS
“NOCHECITA” (Trujillo Road – Llano Quemado, New Mexico) New! 8″x10″ Original Oil WORD PAINTINGS #131 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life!) – UNCOMPETITIVE PURPOSEFULNESS!!! 30 April 2023 – Saying Farewell to winter and “Hola” to Spring! It is a quiet Sunday morning here on Llano Quemado. Woke […]
WORD PAINTINGS #130 – A CAUTIONARY TALE
WORD PAINTINGS # 130 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life) – A CAUTIONARY TALE! Sometimes when we least expect it, Life Happens!! Had a fall last September (I slid rather ungracefully to my bedroom floor) – was unable to raise myself up. The EMTs arrived and were concerned that […]
WORD PAINTINGS #129 – FULL MOON IN LEO!
Studio #123 – DREAMKEEPER STUDY (Moonset 11/11/22 – Llano Quemado, N.M.) – 12″x12″ Original Oil on Linen canvas, custom framed – free shipping – https://www.ebay.com/itm/155389993132 WORD PAINTINGS #129 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life)…. 4 February 2023 – Still dark at 5:45 AM . A very fat and bright […]
WORD PAINTINGS #128 – FIRST PAINTINGS OF 2023 – DREAMKEEPER (WORKS IN PROGRESS)
WORD PAINTINGS #128 (How I Came to New Mexico and Larned about Art and Life) – ON MY EASEL TODAY! Studio #123 -WORKS IN PROGRESS “DREAMKEEPER” – 12″x12″ Oil Study for 30″x30″ Original Oil. Early morning on Nov. 11, 2022 I lifted the bedroom window shade and saw this moonset over Tres Orejas. Just […]
WORD PAINTINGS #127 – WINTER WORK
WORD PAINTINGS #127 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned about Art and Life) – WINTER WORK 27 November 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – A Perfect New Beginning!!! Wakened to huge fluffy snowflakes at 7Am. a veritable whiteout! Now 10:30AM – the grey clouds are clearing and all the pretty white stuff is […]
WORD PAINTINGS #126 – BLANK IS A NEW BEGINNING
20 October 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico)- The father of my three children died yesterday. These past few weeks have been very strange. His dying was very long and protracted. Painful. Daily updates from one of our twin daughters. We had been divorced for over 52 years. Memories of our nine years together and how […]
WORD PAINTINGS #125 – LOST AND FOUND
6 August 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – So often life is a balancing act! It falls to pieces but miracle after miracle the missing pieces show up and we get to sort them out one by one – leaving behind those that no longer fit. This is such an interesting time to be alive!! […]
WORD PAINTINGS #124 – RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN – BLESSED RAIN!!!
WORD PAINTINGS #124 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned About Life and Art) -RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN – BLESSED RAIN!!! 3 July 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Sunday morning silence – not even the birds are singing! Truth is we are all exhausted from the heavy drama of this time since the […]
WORD PAINTINGS # 123 – UP IN SMOKE!
WORD PAINTINGS #123 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned about Art and Life) – UP IN SMOKE! 11 June 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire has consumed over 320,000 acres and is 67% contained. Yesterday a new fire broke out north of El Rito burning 500 […]
WORD PAINTINGS #122 – BACK TO THE BEGINNING AGAIN!
WORD PAINTINGS #122 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned About Art and Life) A MAN IS RICH AS HIS WOODPILE (From the High Road, Northern New Mexico) ***************************** WORD PAINTINGS #122 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned About Art and Life) 5 June 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) […]
WORD PAINTINGS #120 – A CRUEL SEASON
WORD PAINTINGS #120 (How I Came to New Mexico and Learned About Life and Art) – A CRUEL SEASON 4 May 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – View from my kitchen window: What began as a few plumes of white over towards Las Vegas on or about the 20th of April became 75,000 acres forest […]
WORD PAINTINGS #119 – GOING TO SANCTUARY
30 April 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – High winds, forest fires – smoky haze settling on Taos Valley. Heard yesterday that he winds will pick up again today. I can hear some whistles at the windows. Rain clouds formed over the area across from my kitchen window. Plumes of smoke from the Las […]
WORD PAINTINGS #118 – EARTH, WIND AND FIRE!!
25 April 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – All I can say is “WOW”!!! Yesterday definitely felt like the end of the world. Sixty mile an hour winds up here on the Llano (94 mile an hour at the Ski Valley). Blowing from south toward Taos Mountain the sand and dust was thick […]
WORD PAINTINGS #117 – A CANDLE FOR GRAMPA JIM
GOOD FRIDAY – 15 April 2022. Just lit a candle for my Grampa Jim. The story goes that Valentin Danielewski came over on the boat from either Prussia or Poland when he was eight years old. As a young adult he Americanized his name to Jim Daniels. In time he married my grandmother Ella, adopted […]
WORD PAINTINGS #116 – CENTINELAS DE ORO
STUDIO #1322 – CENTINELAS DE ORO (Rio Grande at Pilar, New Mexico) NEW! 30″X40″ Original Oil 13 April 2022 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Opened my window last night to hear the coyotes way down by the river. The winds started up early this morning and they are Fierce! Some gusts make the house shake. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #115 – INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN
“The images of peace are ephemeral. The language of peace is subtle. The reasons for peace, the definitions of peace, the very idea of peace have to be invented, and invented again. Children, everybody, here’s what to do during war: In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. A parade. A community. A […]
WORD PAINTINGS #114 – WINTER WORK!
17 February 2022 – SNOW DAY!!! A few warm and balmy days this week followed by a big, belching blizzard this morning! I love it!! Breakfast, coffee and now to settle in for a quiet day of painting.
WORD PAINTINGS #113 – INTO THE DREAMTIME
I dream a lot. I do more painting when I’m not painting. It’s in the subconscious. One’s art goes as far and as deep as one’s love goes. It’s all in how you arrange the thing… the careful balance of the design is the motion. -Andrew Wyeth- 29 November 2021 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) […]
WORD PAINTINGS #112 – DUST DEVILS AND A DOUBLE RAINBOW!
12 August 2021 -Llano Quemado, New Mexico – Early Evening view from my front portal – storm has moved off to Eastern foothills. The sun is coming in low from the West. _______________________________________________ 15 August 2021 – Low rumblings and grumblings – thunder and dark clouds moving in from the eastern foothills […]
WORD PAINTINGS #111 – THIS HOUSE OF CLOUDS AND BIRDS
1 August 2021 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Sleepy Sunday afternoon. Actually a long nap sounds wonderful right now. Waiting for my yard helpers Gerald and Junior. These brothers have been helping me keep up landscape appearances for almost 20 years. Only needed to do the yard once last year – no real monsoon season. […]
Word Paintings #110 – MONSOON
MONSOON – (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – 6″x8″ Original Oil-Available “Put a man in the wrong atmosphere and nothing will function as it should. He will seem unhealthy in every part. Put him back into his proper element and everything will blossom and look healthy.” ~LudwigWittgenstein 15 July 2021 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – 6:30 […]
WORD PAINTINGS #109 – RETURN TO LIFE
17 May 2021 – ON MY EASEL TODAY – Works in Progress (Underpaintings) – RIO FERNANDO (New Mexico) 40″x30″ and LOS CAMPOS DEL LLANO, 24″x30″ Original Oils. 20 June 2021 – 6AM (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – A month since I’ve posted. Joyfully returning to some semblance of normalcy. This was a week of firsts. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #108 – INTO THE DREAMTIME
25 April 2021 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico – Sitting in front of a blank canvas waiting to make that first brushstroke is exciting-much like opening the first page of a much anticipated book – it is a mystery, a surprise and you never know how it will end ……unless you begin! Real life is […]
WORD PAINTINGS #107 – WITH EYES TO SEE…
28 March 2021 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – By definition I am a “studio” painter – which means I bring my source material back to my easel and stay with the work until it is finished. There must be a million ways to make a painting. the key is to just start and […]
WORD PAINTINGS #106 – AWAKENING
13 March 2019 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico…..8:30 AM…..Taos Mountain obscured by heavy clouds, hazy poetry. Brief weather forecast last night – snow in the mountains. It snowed in Denver yesterday. The weather is changing, the time changes on Sunday – everything is Change! Went to the clinic yesterday for my second vaccine – easy […]
WORD PAINTINGS #105 – FINDING SANCTUARY
“The images of peace are ephemeral. The language of peace is subtle. The reasons for peace, the definitions of peace, the very idea of peace have to be invented, and invented again. Children, everybody, here’s what to do during war: In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. A parade. A community. A school. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #104 – MAKING A PAINTING
It takes patience and courage to “become” an artist – the truth is you never stop “becoming”. This is the best part! That blank canvas staring at you from the easel is full of mystery and promise. Then again it might turn out to be the ugliest things the world has ever seen! You will […]
WORD PAINTINGS #103 – A WANDERING MIND
FIRST SNOW (Truchas, New Mexico) New 40″x40″ Original Oil – Sold 16 October 2020 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico. Can you believe it? Only 18 more days until the election! Morning memories, thoughts are sometimes very powerful. Today a connection was made to my childhood comparing that time to these last four years of […]
WORD PAINTINGS #102 – MAKING SPACE TO CREATE
Creativity begins with the heart and mind….however there is so much more to making a painting than hopes and wishes….. Here is the first in my series of “sharing my painting secrets” blog posts. Back in the day I created and taught a very popular workshop called “The Craft of Painting”. Artists and newbies came […]
WORD PAINTINGS #101 – SECOND THOUGHTS
9/23/20 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Yesterday the United States reached a turning point of over 200,000 deaths from the Corona virus. It was 191,000 when I wrote the following blog post on the 9th. In light of all the losses this year – jobs, incomes, fires, hurricanes and all the ever-emerging human tragedies at […]
WORD PAINTINGS #100 – TODAY IS ALL WE HAVE
DON GREGORIO’S WINTER FIELD – 48″X36″ ORIGINAL OIL 23 August 2020 (Llano Quemado -Taos, New Mexico) – Life is uncertain. Taos Mountain is obscured by smoke from the raging fires in California and Arizona. The Medio fire that began in Tesuque near Santa Fe contributes to the soft blurry haziness. My neighbor’s forty or fifty […]
WORD PAINTINGS #99 – LISTENING TO MOUNTAINS V – Birthday Girl!
COSME’S OAKS – Friend Cosme Romero Mayordomo of Truchas for many years LLANO QUEMADO – TRUCHAS, N.M. – September 3, 1984….We had a party! My 44th birthday celebration. Made pots of green chile and posole, nachos, tortillas – and many, many margaritas. Pedro Ribera Ortega the local geneologist and historian sat under the portal for […]
WORD PAINTINGS #98 – MONSOON!!!!
7/18/20 – MONSOON CLOUDS – LLANO QUEMADO, NEW MEXICO 3 August 2020 (Llano Quemado, N.M.) 6AM – The kitchen window is open about 6 inches – very cold air is pouring in – thinking that it will only be about five weeks before there will be the first snow on Taos Mountain and Truchas Peaks. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #97 – LISTENING TO MOUNTAINS IV – NEW LIFE
HOME, HOME ON THE RANCH (LLANO QUEMADO, TRUCHAS, NEW MEXICO) 1983 – Llano Quemado, Truchas, New Mexico – The horse trailers with our six new guests arrived in late winter after the first of the year. Three were definitely with foal. We purchased many bales of hay in anticipation and when the day came, we […]
WORD PAINTINGS #96 – LISTENING TO MOUNTAINS III – AWAKENING
“HIGH COUNTRY MONDAY MORNING” It wasn’t difficult for me to adjust to life on the horse ranch. In the beginning I felt caught between two very alien planets. Santa Fe’s over the top social scene, the intense competition in a newly developing art market, trying to earn a living from making and selling paintings was […]
WORD PAINTINGS #95 – GONE TO SANCTUARY
Llano Quemado Studio this morning – finished paintings and works in progress. 3 July 2020 (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) – Up at 4AM today – thinking, thinking, thinking- bad case of monkey-mind. Turned on Morning Joe – he is such a bloviator! Switched him off after five minutes. Tried to go back to sleep…nope…fixed a […]
WORD PAINTINGS #94 – LISTENING TO MOUNTAINS II
There definitely is a certain poetry to life and it is usually discovered through the distance of time. Waking up to reality, deep awareness is not for everyone. I did not choose to wake up and gratefully scotch was helping me stay numb to many events from my childhood. Debilitating panic attacks were frequent visitors. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #93 – LISTENING TO MOUNTAINS Part One
7 June 2020 – Llano Quemado, N.M. – Caught up in all the drama and chaos of these past three months – have been self-isolating since the beginning of March. Relearning how to live on my own….laundry, mopping and the damned dishes! Can’t comprehend the scope of the death from the virus and the […]
WORD PAINTINGS #92 – INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN
Llano Quemado, New Mexico – Unable to think of much else since making the decision to go ahead and share my experience, strength and hope. Have tried to talk myself out of this, but the urge to persist is with me every day now. Perhaps there might be just one other woman out there struggling […]
WORD PAINTINGS #91 – CLOUDS FROM BOTH SIDES NOW
26 May 2020 – Llano Quemado, N.M. – Sat in the sun on the old railroad bench in front of the house this morning. A wide band of low clouds forming in the northeast over Taos Mountain and the Pecos foothills. A matching bank of clouds slowly building over the low mountains to the southeast, […]
WORD PAINTINGS #90 – REBIRTH
24 MAY 2020 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico – An old habit of mine is to give permission to start life over anytime I experience major shifts or changes. Turning 80 last year and after some major health issues, every day has been a New Beginning. The minute my eyes open, I experience a delightful […]
WORD PAINTINGS #89 – FROM DARK TO LIGHT!
21 May 2020 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico – One day it dawned on me that the way I painted (dark to light) was a metaphor for all of Life! My darkest times have usually been followed by a blissful period of “enlightenment”…a time when I breathed a sigh of relief to have run the […]
WORD PAINTINGS #88 – SPRING CLEANING
20 May 2020 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico – Turned off the heat, opened the windows, changed the bed – did the laundry. Washed my summer painting clothes – linen pants, blue jeans. Doing simple tasks for the past two weeks, trying to gain some equilibrium in what is being called our “new normal”. Adjustments […]
WORD PAINTINGS #87 – INTO THE LIGHT
LLano Quemado, New Mexico – 25 April 2020 – The coyote family down by the river sang me to sleep last night! Smiled on my way to Dreamland. Unable to write for a while – have truly been “out of words”. Began my quarantine March 1st, so today I’ve had time to think about […]
WORD PAINTINGS #86 – RADICAL FAITH
Llano Quemado, New Mexico – 2 April 2020 Sometimes a ray of hope is a simple shadow made by a ventilation pipe and a canale on a certain day every year – and that is the day you just happen to plan a field trip shortly after the loss of a child. And there it […]
WORD PAINTINGS #85 – RESPITE
Llano Quemado, New Mexico – 3/17/20 – Taking the day off today. All hell broke loose last Friday when the shelves at Smith’s Grocery in town were bare to the bone! Thought I was calm as a cucumber until today when I STOPPED! I bought into the panic buying with a large pantry order on […]
WORD PAINTINGS #84 – SOCIAL DISTANCING
Llano Quemado, N.M. – 13 March 2020…..Taking stock today – going to give in and self-quarantine for two months. A lot of work to do – many changes. Above image is my new 40″x40″ painting of Truchas – “First Snow”. The frame has been delivered just waiting for me to complete this canvas. Another instance […]
WORD PAINTINGS #83 – O WHERE O WHERE IS CHICHICASTENANGO?
21 February 2020 -Llano Quemado, New Mexico – Last night Josh Gates, Archaeologist and Explorer (Expedition Unknown) began a trek to the Pre-Classic Mayan site of El Mirador in Guatemala (dates back to 2000 BC!). Was so excited to see them fly into Guatemala City, stock up supplies, load their gear onto helicopters and fly […]
WORD PAINTINGS #82 – DOING DISHES
Llano Quemado, N.M. – 20 February 2020 -A light snow this morning – whole bunch of jobs lined up, a resistance to all of them at first – too easy to stay in bed! One foot in front of another; one day at a time! Still playing catch up after last year’s dramas. Yes, a […]
WORD PAINTINGS #81 – RACHEL CORRIE
THE WORDS OF RACHEL CORRIE (b1979-d2003) ON LEAVING HER HOME IN OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON… We are all born and someday we’ll all die. Most likely to some degree alone. What if our aloneness isn’t a tragedy? What if our aloneness is what allows us to speak the truth without being afraid? What if our aloneness […]
WORD PAINTINGS #80 – FROM THE PORTAL
“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with… There’s no place like home.” Dorothy – The Wizard of Oz Studio #5/20 – HUNTER’S MOON (10/12/2019 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico […]
WORD PAINTINGS #79 – TO BE CONTINUED….
5 December 2019 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico Snowstorm predicted for today – all hunkered down and ready to hibernate. The pantry and freezer are all filled up. You would think I live a thousand miles from the nearest store…got caught in that great Chicago blizzard (’67 ?) with 3 hungry babies – have never […]
WORD PAINTINGS #78 – ORDINARY DAYS CONTINUED….
THANKSGIVING DAY – 28 November 2019 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico Up at 6AM – Out to the kitchen to make my coffee….silence. Snowstorm during the night – about two inches on the ground. A soft light creeping over the foothills towards Pecos. Nothing moving – complete stillness – a moment in time when the […]
WORD PAINTINGS #77 – “ORDINARY DAYS”
TAOS MOUNTAIN – 7 NOVEMBER 2019 “The images of peace are ephemeral. The language of peace is subtle. The reasons for peace, the definitions of peace, the very idea of peace have to be invented, and invented again. Children, everybody, here’s what to do during war: In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #76 – “OUT OF THE WILDERNESS”
ROAD TO WILDERNESS GATE (Truchas, New Mexico) Llano Quemado, New Mexico – 2 November 2019 – This painting always reminds me of the day I was lost in a small meadow while hiking to the top of Truchas Peaks with a group of friends. So out of shape from sitting at the easel every […]
WORD PAINTINGS #75 – GOING TO GROUND
Hunter’s Moon – view from the front portal Llano Quemado – 19 October 2019 Some people are slower than others to understand what it means to live in the present; I was one of them! Seemed to bounce from one drama to another this year – very little painting – until now. This weekend a […]
WORD PAINTINGS #74 – THE LAY OF THE LAND
LLANO QUEMADO, NEW MEXICO – 13 October 2019 The studios in Tesuque and Victor Court were not open to the sky and they were very claustrophobic. Had talked with a friend and discussed a field trip north to Cimarron or the San Luis Valley. Almost gasping for space – clouds, sunsets – mountains….views! Saw some […]
WORD PAINTINGS #73 – FIVE FINGER EXERCISES
6 October 2019 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico SMALL PAINTINGS 2020 Coming back to life is a slow process. Have not been able to paint very much this year. Likening this time to what a ballerina must feel like after breaking a toe – all the muscle memory must be brought back to life before […]
WORD PAINTINGS #72 – SEEING DINOSAURS
Las Nubes de Truchas (The Clouds of Truchas) As soon as there is stopping, there is happiness. There is peace. When we stop like that, it looks as if nothing is happening, but in fact everything is happening. You are deeply established in the present moment, and you touch your cosmic body. You touch […]
WORD PAINTINGS #71 – INTO THE DREAM
Making Room “Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall […]
WORD PAINTINGS #70 – DANCING WITH MY EASEL
Llano Quemado, New Mexico – 8/16/19 – My synapses are firing again!!! It has been such a long time since I felt connected to my easel. It is almost human – stares at me accusingly if I am not working, laughs at my avoidance routines, makes me feel guilty for taking a nap when I […]
WORD PAINTINGS #69 – HEAVEN, I’M IN HEAVEN!
Llano Quemado, New Mexico 8/11/2019 – Moved into this new studio/home exactly three weeks ago. Most of the moving boxes are gone – now it is down to sorting and putting things where they belong. Windows everywhere – 360 deg. views – monsoon clouds and spectacular sunsets. Last night hellacious thunder and lightning. Three easels […]
WORD PAINTINGS #68 – THE SHAMAN’S BLESSING
9 August 2019 – Llano Quemado, New Mexico…..Back in the day I had close connections in El Paso. And today I am thinking of the people who live there. Some of my best days were spent selling paintings, having lunch at Juliio’s in Juarez, grocery shopping at the Pronaf – making new friends on both […]
WORD PAINTINGS #67 – A BLANK PAGE IN MY BOOK OF LIFE
30 July 2019 – Llano Quemado, N.M. How do you eat an elephant? …..one bite at a time! Heard this expression years ago. It is so good to be reminded that whenever Life comes at me in big, unmanageable chunks, I need to stop whatever I thought needed to be done immediately and just sit […]
WORD PAINTINGS #66 – FIFTY-TWO MONSOONS
Llano Quemado, N.M. – 27 July 2019 – This year’s monsoon season seems to be happening all around me, only one brief storm Thursday afternoon. No reason for complaint – have lived in this new studio for about ten days. Surrounded by mountains, I sit on an old railroad bench under the portal and watch […]
WORD PAINTINGS # 65 – LEAVING SANTISTEVAN LANE
Taos, New Mezico – Sunday morning, 14 July 2019. Have tried not to think too much about my departure from this place – this move was not planned – it was harsh and sudden. Two months after my surgery, I was basically evicted. AAAArgh! Santistevan Lane has been my home for 25 years – […]
WORD PAINTINGS #64 – LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES!
Seven days in the hospital and finally I was told I could go home. Said goodbye to all the wonderful nurses and aides on the Trauma Ward. Wheelchair to the parking lot and reintroduced to brilliant sunshine – clouds, fresh air. A friend drove the shortest route back to Taos. To my great surprise, I […]
WORD PAINTINGS #63 -ADIOS A LA VIDA AND HELLO AGAIN!
“And the Moon said to me – My darling, you do not have to be whole in order to shine!” Taos – 29 June 2019 – Yesterday I called my genius computer friend, Dan Kuehn, and asked him if we could revive my Word Paintings blog – I was ready to tell my stories again. […]
WORD PAINTINGS #62 – TAOS, Monday 3/11/19
A cold and rainy Monday morning. Want to stay in the cozy warmth of my little bed. Have a huge mental list of things I need to accomplish today. There is always a to do list, isn’t there? How would my life have purpose and meaning without it? Fixed a good strong cup of coffee, […]
WORD PAINTINGS #61 – BABES IN THE WOODS
We were innocents – much like an isolated Amazonian tribe that had never seen an airplane. We had no clue that Santa Fe would eventually rank second only to New York in art sales! All we wanted to do was make our art and then maybe we could show our work at jean Seth’s […]
WORD PAINTINGS # 60 – MAKING ART
75 Years Ago – Chicago, Ill. Taos 2/2019 – It is a long, long journey from wanting to be an artist to actually earning a living in that chosen field. The general impression is a dreamy person in clothes covered with paint picking up a brush every now and then and somehow a beautiful […]
WORD PAINTINGS #59 – 1969/72 REAL LESSONS IN ART & LIFE
The course of the rest of my life was set in these three important years. My children and I lived by ourselves on Kiva Road in Santa Fe. Ernie was a frequent visitor and somehow he began to complete the picture of family life for us. The children had visits to the “ranch” out on […]
WORD PAINTNGS #58 – AN ENDING AND NEW BEGINNINGS
Una Senda Desconocido – A Path Unknown Taos, 2/2019 – Last night I had a death dream. I was with a group of people who knew they didn’t have long to live. One girl stood out and we ended up having a short conversation. She asked only one question. “Are you afraid to die?” My […]
WORD PAINTINGS #57 (Kiva Rd. Santa Fe l969/72) – THE FUN HOUSE
So many, many years later I now realize that trying to raise children in a toxic marital environment can be considered abuse. In retrospect all the misgivings I had about divorce were still alive and well as we prepared to leave that pretty little, terribly unhappy house on Sombrio Drive. We moved to a small […]
WORD PAINTINGS #56 (Taos – 1/26/19) – CEREMONY
Before I dive into more memories of the past, just one more post in the present tense. Once the decision was made to focus more on my art life, I discovered a whole new perspective – clarity. This is certainly a surprising adventure! At the beginning of each New Year I begin my daily practice […]
WORD PAINTINGS #55 – Taos 1/22/19 – HIBERNATING
Wakened to another snow storm this morning….wind blowing, hints of a blizzard. Made a great cup of coffee and crawled back into bed. Yesterday my friend Doug and I went to Orlando’s my favorite New Mexican restaurant – enchiladas with red and green chile! Perfection! Back at the studio Doug took the above photo – […]
WORD PAINTINGS #54 – Taos, 1/10/19 – “MORNING WORDS”
Up early. The sun rose through a bright yellow band of clouds over the mountains towards Pecos. Joyous! Worked all day yesterday to prepare the house for some rather serious hours at the easel. Coming out of the longest period of “creative work block” I can remember in all the years I have been […]
WORD PAINTINGS #53 – TAOS, 1/7/19 – TAKING STOCK
“No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of the night. We know that every moment is a moment of Grace, every hour an offering” – Jakob Shekaneder Life without drama is a gift from a chaotic universe. It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does, […]
WORD PAINTINGS #52 – Jan. l, 2019 – Taos, New Mexico
Taos, New Mexico – 1 January 2019 – Snowflakes the size of nickels this morning! They float silently; I am floating with them. Thinking of last year at this time – no snow at all! Talk of drought, forest fires….collective panic. Not this year!! These little puffs of clouds are landing on what was another […]
WORD PAINTINGS #51 – KIVA ROAD 1969-72
Once I faced the financial disaster it looked as though bankruptcy was the only answer. My friends urged me to clear it all out and start over. This didn’t feel right to me. It was impossible to know what the future held in store, but it was a no-brainer for me to decide to pay […]
WORD PAINTINGS #50 – 1968 – JUST THE FOUR OF US!
Do you ever ask yourself “what if?” – What if my husband had been faithful and true and we never had to escape to New Mexico? What if my father was open to helping me when my husband threatened the four of us and I had packed up my babies and moved back to Chicago? […]
WORD PAINTINGS #49 – 12/12/18 – FROM MY TAOS COUCH!
Taos, N.M. 12/12/18 – Just read somewhere that it is incumbent upon women of a certain age to tell their stories. Wonder why? After posting the notes from my recent “Sentimental Journey” starting at Pilar and traveling all the way to the horse ranch on Llano Quemado near Truchas town, I stopped writing for a […]