Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder
My grandmother told me that age was just a number.
Remember that you are never too old to pursue your dreams...we are all young at heart.
This is me, Diana Crow, preparing to trek from the parking lot to the painting site...72 years and counting.
In April I enjoyed a very exciting week attending the 7th annual Plein Air Convention & EXPO in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
But at PACE2018 I was surely challenged to PACE myself. My body was confused with the two hour time zone difference
and 7000 foot high altitude, though for twenty years I resided near Mile High Denver.
It was easy to get to the 6:30AM Breakfast & Art Marketing Boot Camp with Eric Rhoads, the publisher of Plein Air Magazine,
since that was 8:30AM at home in Florida,
but I was a no show at the late evening events....though I was often wide awake at 2AM.
Lesson learned: don't take cholorophyll to build red blood cells when you go to bed; take it in the morning. It's a stimulant!
Dancing for Prizes in Home Room if your name was drawn in the lottery.
It was exciting to attend Kevin Macpherson's pre-convention workshop
and have him autograph his new book, Conversations with Nature.
His first book Fill Your Paintings with Light and Color was my constant companion when I started painting outside.
Kevin is such a genuine caring, down to earth person and I appreciated hearing about the evolution of his art since his visits to China
where he paints with the children. He believes that art has the power to change the world. You can learn more about his nonprofit, Art Ambassadors, and The Great Guatemala Building Project at www.artambassador.org.
Kevin Macpherson uses a limited palette.
During the week it seemed that the people I sat next to were the ones I was meant to meet.
Not only did we have art in common, but they understood when I shared how I was anxious that
my sweetheart was at home recovering from a stroke.
His family came to care for him so that I could immerse myself in art for a week.
My seatmates consoled me and coincidentally often had been through a similar medical experience.
Imagine being in a convention hall with over 1200 artists, People Just Like Me.
People who drive down the street and notice the sunlight
glistening on a tree and think, "How would I paint that?"
We all took selfies to post: Wish You Were Here
Artists from across the globe displayed their art, and Diana Crow was one of them.
That's my painting of the man pushing the plow that I met along the road to Ghost Ranch seven years ago.
"Proud Abiquiu Gardener" by Diana Crow is Available.
The faculty of over 80 artists and speakers were so generous sharing their knowledge.
I was a sponge soaking up their wisdom. This is truly lifelong learning.
At times the schedule was overwhelming because each day there were a multitude of choices: there were demonstration
rooms for oil, pastel, and water media artists, as well as other artists doing demos in the EXPO Hall. But I remembered to PACE myself,
and I amso happy that I purchased the raw downloads of many of the sessions that I didn't see
so now I can view them at my leisure at home.
Of course I came prepared with a credit card because The EXPO part of this event was heaven!!
And I pledge to take care of my Rosemary brushes, they are great fun to use!
At the Opening Ceremonies the venerable, David Leffel was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.
He did a demonstration on stage later in the week.
Alvaro Castagnet also received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
It was so exciting to watch him create a magnificent watercolor painting of the Plaza in Santa Fe!
After attending demonstrations and talks all day many of the 1100 attendees traveled
in the late afternoons to local historic sites to paint outside together, of course it was the Plein Air Convention!
Monday was a very windy day at our headquarters at the Buffalo Thunder Resort, but
when we descended into the Chimayo valley to paint at El Sanctuario de Chimayo the winds calmed a bit.
At the EXPO I had purchased Thomas Kitts' new DVD,
"Sorolla, Painting the Color of Light" so it was great to paint behind him and get his advice about my painting!
"Chimayo Pastureland" by Diana Crow is Available.
I was amazed when I walked around the property
at how quiet it was when all the artists were deep in the zone.
I carpooled to Chimayo with past attendees,
Gail Jackson, Valerie Chitvanni and her sister Lauren, and after painting
we enjoyed a meal together at the famous Rancho de Chimayo Restaurante.
Once again an angel was by my side, Lauren, who was a nurse understood about hospitals and strokes.
On Tuesday afternoon many of the painters went to the Plaza in Santa Fe to paint, but I chose to paint a view on Canyon Road.
"Canyon Road Blossoms" by Diana Crow is sold but prints are available.
Our destination on Thursday was El Rancho el las Golondrinas. It's a site where I could paint for days and days. Though this was a very, very windy afternoon many of us chose sheltered sites to set up our easels. I wanted to paint the tree in my view, but I didn't want to be out in the open wind so I changed my painting when I returned home. I was amazed at the sand I had to scrape off my palette.
"Plein Air Painters at El Rancho de las Golondrinas" by Diana Crow is available.
You are probably getting tired reading this...and believe me I was feeling tired by Thursday evening too! And once again, when I went to the Closing Party I found two ladies to visit with who lived in Florida and Colorado! Coincidences around every corner! It was necessary for me to retire early before the party got really hopping so that I could pack my bags and prepare for painting all day Friday at Ghost Ranch.
The picturesque drive into Ghost Ranch...along the way I saw the property where the proud Abiquiu gardener lived...it was deserted....he's moved on. I was bundled up painting this view because the temperature dropped in two hours and snow flurries were flying!
April at Ghost Ranch by Diana Crow is available.
I have read each issue of Plein Air Magazine from cover to cover since the first issue.
Now that I've attended PACE18 I truly feel like I am a part of this fascinating community of artists
who enjoy getting outside to paint in nature. We stay connected on the group page on facebook.
And though I didn't meet that many people at the convention, I feel like I know them all now through their posts.
And especially, I'm not intimidated by the master artists and faculty members,
but I am thankful to them for sharing their wisdom and knowledge, and encouraging each of us to learn more and more each day.
I know that we each share a creative soul that enlivens people's daily lives with our artistic expressions.
Thank you, especially, to the master mind of this plein air movement, Eric Rhoads, and his team.
His new book, Make More Money Selling Your Art by Eric Rhoads, tells the story of his endeavors and gives artists hope.
You may wonder why I chose to adventure to this particular Plein Air Convention. Well, I have family ties in the area.
This is my son, Brandon, who builds award winning Green Homes at Palo Santo Designs.
On this visit I got to see some of their projects.
And this is our New Mexico family:
His sweetheart, Renee and her mother Rosemarie. Renee is a Santa Fe City Councilwoman.
At the airport yet another coicidence ,an artist from the convention found me! How could she tell?
And you know why you never saw that hat in any of the plein air photos? It was TOO windy!
When I returned home I had consolidated all of my equipment into two hand totes on wheels by Coleman
and my sweetheart was doing much better and happy to see me!
Maybe I'll go to the Plein Air Convention again...when it's in Colorado
where my son, Scott and his sweetheart Claire live!
Will I carry my supplies in a backpack then? Stay tuned.....
El Sanctuario de Chimayo by Diana Crow
