Thursday, July 25, 2013

Telluride and Aspen Plein Air, 2013

 The Telluride and Aspen Plein Air Events were both a success!  The Sheridan Arts Foundation (and for Aspen, together with the Wheeler Opera House) hosted nationally recognized plein air artists, (including yours truly), to spend a week in each town capturing the light, color and unique character of this breathtaking region.  Both historic opera houses benefitted from the sales, which were good!  Below are two of the paintings I created during our visit to Colorado, and are still available:
"Telluride Charm for Sale!"  6" x 8" oil on canvas panel, $345
"Aspen Gondolas in the Summertime"  11" x 14" oil on canvas panel, $850
My husband and I drove to the events all the way from Carlsbad, California and stayed right in town for the Telluride event. I hooked up a trailer to my bicycle, and tooled around town (without regard to finding parking, etc) and painted 2 or 3 paintings a day!  The quick draw, an otherwise stressful event, was a success for me too! I painted the front of the Sheridan Opera House and the piece sold to a nice couple who are planning to give it to their daughter as a gift.  Telluride is a sweet little town; the people are friendly and there's a great view at every corner!  We moved on to Aspen (neither my husband or I had ever been there) and it was a grand town!  The historical architecture is something to see, many of the buildings built in the late 1800's.  This was another beautiful town to paint (me), fish (my husband) and spend time. The quick draw for Aspen not only also sold to a lovely woman, but won the First Place Award! I painted the hillside from a little restaurant in town called The White House Tavern.  My husband and I were treated to dinner there by the management that night and it was a WONDERFUL meal (even before we found out that they were treating us!-truly I highly recommend it!)  It was humbling, and a real thrill to be awarded among such other accomplished artists and quite a pleasant surprise! Additionally, since I was a "top seller" in Aspen, I am guaranteed an invitation for 2014, and you can bet I'll be applying to the Telluride Plein Air Event again!  Feel free to contact me about the purchase of these Colorado plein air paintings,  visit my website to see all of the "still available" Colorado paintings, or my facebook page to see many photos from the weeks of events!