Goings On: PAAC show, NM trip and AVES

 

Entry 1: "January Thaw" 9x12 watercolor on 140lb cold press paper

All sorts of things have been going on lately. I've been painting more landscapes, more birds, and learning a lot.

Last month I entered the Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC) National Exhibit for the first time, and found much to my surprise that both entries made it in!  The show will run July through August at Mary Williams Fine Arts Gallery in Boulder, Colorado and is going to be amazing. It's an honor to be included in such an experienced, talented group.

Entry 2: "Gentle Spring Morning in the Canyon" 9x12 watercolor on 140lb cold press paper

I've also been packing for a week-long trip to paint in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico with my local painter's group. It's gonna to be a road-trip, so it should be quite the adventure!  We're hoping for drier weather than we've been getting in Colorado. The constant rain had been great for the garden, but not-so-great for painting outside.  Due to everyone being crammed inside the last couple of weeks, I appear to have contracted a cold with a side of strep throat. Ergh.

A couple additional projects are also in the works, the biggest one being the book cover and chapter illustrations for the next installment of the AVES series by C.J. Berry.  Due to copyright agreement, I can't show you anything from it yet, but so far it's looking even better than the work I did on the first book.  Just like last time, there's the main characters in various chapter scenes, but there's quite a few new locations and species, as well.  I've been meeting with CJ to update him on my progress over coffee, and his enthusiasm for his story is infectious.  One of the best things about working directly with an author is that you get to ask them questions and get inside their world a little more than you could just by reading their book (or in this case, a draft). Which is a good thing, because I want to portray his characters as close to how he imagines them as possible.

 Coy and Red having a conversation in AVES, book one.

Well, I'm off to attempt some more drawing, and then perhaps some warmth and rest to recover from this throat bug.  If one's best work comes from adversity, I'm set!