Starting where I left off last week on the new painting. Working through some light values that will remain in this silhouette piece.-DIX BAINES In progress 24x32 oil on board
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It's hard to believe, but the week has abruptly come to an end. It's always great to know what I'm working on come Monday morning, so after going through some images, I decided to revisit a smaller piece I did last year and expand both the image and the size. Even when painting a similar image, it's a bit like snowflakes, in that no two are ever exactly a like. This particular image is actually a view of Sky Pond looking to the west. A great place of inspiration for an artist. -DIX BAINES Tinted 24x32 board painted with gesso
I have watched Dix Baines paint for the last 34 years, 19 of which he has painted full time, and the magic of the whole process never ceases to amaze me. That someone can first conceive the image mentally and then bring it to a tangible physical creation, continues to leave me awestruck. As he paints from life, anything that captures his eye can be the subject of one of his paintings, but as his work is exhibited in The Broadmoor Galleries, located at the historic Colorado Broadmoor Hotel, images of the property are always in high demand by patrons and often included in his repertoire of images. Located on the property is the beautiful Pauline Chapel, a favorite wedding location, which has been the subject of many of his small paintings for the property. Like many artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, Dix Baines often revisits an image in different sizes, formats, and light. This particular view is to be at twilight. Once the image and size are determined, the process to start a painting is always the same. After cutting the board, it is painted with gesso and a tinted wash is applied. A scratch sketch follows and this part always seems a bit like he is carving out the image, just like a sculptor carves the image out of stone. Finally, paint is applied. His signature signifies that the painting is complete and can be shipped to the gallery. Eventually, it will find it's way to the wall of a collector and every time they look at the painting, it will transport them back to that time, that place, that moment when they escaped life and enjoyed the beauty of The Broadmoor Hotel. - Kathlyn Gogarty-Baines @ Dix Baines Studio 1. Cut 8x6 board, painted with gesso, and the wash beginning to be applied 2. The sketch 3. Completion
"Pauline Twilight" 6x8 oil on board $650 Available through the Broadmoor Galleries @ 719.577.5744 Very somber and dark outside today. Not much of a sunrise – just a touch of light rested upon the scene outside my room. It was brief but dramatic. I plan to work out on the patio today as the weather does not look to lift anytime soon today. I feel I can paint and push that (light) moment into the view. The pallet today is so somber – a very different mix of color from what seems typical when painting here. I feel that some of my decisions about mixing color and composition is stronger on this trip. I really have been excited about returning to Gateway. The colors and wildflowers have surpassed my expectations. (fig 23 drawing/ small painting 4 of 4 ) At Lee Bowden’s request, I returned again in June to paint upon selected rocks that were being incorporated into a Medicine Wheel alongside the Deloros river. I painted twelve petra glyph replications upon perimeter rocks that surrounded the tee-pees of a wellness and therapy center. On Fathers Day, Lee took us on a sunrise to sunset 4 wheel adventure. We saw everything north, south, east and west that he could cram into a day. The greatest thing about the gateway experience was the depth that the opportunity gave to spend so much time in a single area, and the chance to revisit special places in sequential seasons. It was an extremely challenging exercise. All of the elements heaped upon the burden of packing, lugging, and moving my equipment. Many of the field studies were painted off the back of an ATV, others were created under the protection of the back door of my SUV. Every morning was early, the days were long, and the winds and rains frequent. If you were not sweating then you were freezing to death (at least there are no bugs in winter). Food was a constant labor in itself preparing lunches and snacks to satisfy my never ending appetite. In the evenings, restaurant was closed by the time I returned from the back country. Microwave dinners soon fell short to the lunches. I am proud that I did not lose a single valuable piece of equipment, or drop a sketch into the dirt. Upon my return home from Gateway trips I would often need physical recuperation for a good 3 days before I could resume normal and effective studio production. The process tempered me and I feel it honed my skills like no other experience could. It forced me to quickly learn and embrace a subject matter that I was less experienced with. Observation and trial and error were continually the keys to learning how to better depict the subtle harmonies of this southwest wonderland. It also revealed to me the drama of light in landscapes that few can ever witness outside of such a wild, remote and vast typography. I had so much time to be with my thoughts, to breath in the scenery, to read and study other kindred spirits in the writings/ paintings of artists I admire. of Inness, Cole, Church, Moran, Payne, Bierstadt, Gifford, Homer and Hill. Each was utterly connected to the views that they depicted. Each also depicted a quality of the life force, an artistic acknowledgement of God as the originator and central point of all life, and that everything in creation could be taken as evidence of the divine order of the universe "Evening Grandeur" 32×40 oil on board SOLD
Nearly forty field studies were painted on location, in addition to the 8 commissioned pieces. All of these works have been added to the collection housed in the Gateway Canyons property. In addition, I continually am painting views from this year of discovery. To date, I have produced over 50 Gateway images, and yet, I feel it is just the beginning of what I might be able to voice of this land. Some scattered light last night. Clouds cleared off enough to offer a nice sunrise. Spring light! "Morning Palisade" 6×12 oil on board SOLD Painted (another) morning view – wind chased me off – pretty windy now. "Morning Shadows" 8×10 oil on board SOLD Clouds continue to roll in and it looks like it will be scattered enough to offer storm light. The bright setting sun on the rock formations make for stunning compositions. I love the combination of warm land and cool sky. The sky also carries such drama and mystery as the rains blow across. "Drama of Geology" 6×12 oil on board SOLD A ribbon of light stretched across this scene as the storm clouds pushed through. "Spring Palisade" 8×10 oil on board SOLD "Evening Light of Spring" 9×12 oil on board SOLD "Afternoon Meadow" 6×12 oil on board SOLD
Onward through the Canyons of Moab. For the first time I drove the back way through Castle Valley (to Gateway). What an incredible and varied drive! The Colorado River Canyon turns into an Indian Red or Vermillion land. As you climb toward the Manti La Sal mountains you enter lush grazing meadows. You turn upwards into a mix of scrub oak and alpine foliage. Higher up, the La Sals soar above alpine meadows and streams. Runoff is beginning to saturate the land. Cattle have been moved up to graze in these pastures. Then the familiar descent down John Brown Road, the landscape is distinctly more arid, the rock formations on the mesa’s are rough, red and stained. Junipers and pinion and grasses mix with the new leaves of spring. How beautiful are the fresh new leaves which vibrate against the red and purple backdrops. Extreme contrasts of light and dark, complimentary warms and cools. I am very excited to return to Gateway – the familiar terrain is a welcomed site. The change of the season’s and the warm temperature is also welcomed. I left a cool Denver to suddenly be in 85 degree days. Wildflowers are dotting the scenery. This could be a good year for them as the winter moisture was good this year. I returned to what was a favorite winter scene on the back side of the Palisade along the deloros River. It is full – 3000+ CFS "Spring River" 8×10 oil on board SOLD
Warm afternoon light with purples and greens Prior to coming to Gateway, I was on the Navaho Reservation near Kaibito. We traveled up from the desert through the diverse and varied southwest country. Always a joy to behold Monument Valley at last light!
Caught a very nice sunset today. With yesterdays production weather, it may be good to leave tomorrow and rest up for a week of larger summer production. Items of Note: saw a bald eagle couple yesterday. They gave a nice show. Saw some wild turkeys near river. The wildest thing out here was the melting snow and the muddy road – slick at times! "First Light on the Canyon" 6×12 oil on board SOLD This mornings study was a simple scene with great light in this middle area over the tree tops. "Winter Pallette of the Dolores" 32×40 oil on board SOLD
Finally – got a good sunrise today. Classic color in the hay meadow today. Clear and warm, plan to paint hard to get some studies in. Went down next to river by the bridge. No leaves offer a view of the palisade. I like the willows and the stream color and will paint the following view… "Winter Willows" 8×10 SOLD Additional sketches from the day were: "Winter Light" 7×8 SOLD Under 18, it reads: Foreground should go shadow with diagonal silhouette in the tree line. Snow on the Palisade is still holding on good – question will be the setting light shadows and highlights. "Canyon Road" 7×8 SOLD
Mornings have been cold and grey. Two days without first light on the Palisade. As the day unwinds there is some better light & by evening some great color. Really cold for the most part today, so, I spend some time on some touch-ups.
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Dix Baines“I am drawn to the things which speak to the senses; the light and atmosphere of landscapes, the impressions of a moment or place, and the spirit of nature and of people. It is important to me to strive as an artist to paint a variety of subjects and to paint each equally well. I paint often on location, or from life. Whether researching sporting life images, landscapes, or places from abroad, painting directly from the subject is essential to capturing the impression of what I see.” -DIX BAINES Archives
November 2016
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