Monday, November 1, 2010

Georgia O'Keefe's Mountain

"Georgia O'Keefe's Mountain"
The Perdenal
Ghost Ranch, NM

Georgia O'Keeefe said God told her she could have this mountain if she painted it enough times. Friday we drove north to Abiquiu and on to Ghost Ranch. There we took the O'Keefe Landscape Tour on a clear sunny day. We stopped at a number of places that inspired her work. We passed her summer home on the ranch where the view from her front yard was of the Perdenal. As we drove away from the ranch, I took a photo of the Perdenal fronted by beautiful fall colors.

I ended up with a shape painting with my simple Koi set and water brush. The grey shapes represent the sage. There were layers of color with the pale green grass in the front. The mountain looked almost black in the distance.

This morning we visited the O'Keefe Museum which had a lovely display of her landscape, bones, and abstract paintings, some inspired by the places we toured. We attended a continental breakfast and gallery talk by the chair of the Art Department at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

7 comments:

Mark Sheeky said...

Powerful cols in this one. The trees in the foreground do almost seem to be paying homage to the distant mountain deity.

Unknown said...

Oh - I'd love to visit there! I can see by your wonderful painting how inspiring it is there. Thank you for sharing this.

Barb Sailor said...

I love your beautiful stylized approach in this painting. Your colors are vibrant and the shapes work.

Charlene Brown said...

I too have a Koi set with a waterbrush, but I never get fantastic clean colours like you do. This is a wonderful little painting.

Mary Paquet said...

Mark, thanks so much for checking in. Great observation. I felt such an ancient spirituality in the New Mexican landscape.

Kathy, you would love NM.

Barbara, this stylization just came tumbling out.

Charlene, I have been surprised by the colors I can achieve with my little Koi travel set.

Barbra Joan said...

You just have to know I envy this one.... Ghost Ranch etc.
I'll be going to Biloxi this weekend to the Peter Anerson Festival .. Its a huge show ... and will let you know about it when I come.
your rendition of Georgias' views is wonderful... what great memories to take home...
BJ

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary, For some reason, this piece reminds me of Georgia O'Keefe. Maybe it's the shapes of the sage or the color. I'm glad you were able to take a little time to paint. What a lovely time of year to visit New Mexico. Thanks for sharing your wonderful adventure!