Hello everyone,
I learned to paint during a long and very hot summer trip with my grandmother to help her run the concession stands at the rodeos in Colorado and in Gallup and Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was a young, impressionable kid, fascinated with incredible rock formations and the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.
At the end of the trip, I took all my left over paints from the Paint by Number kits and began painting western landscapes, including desert scenes, rocks, Navajo Indians and horses. The trip left me with wonderful memories and many souvenirs, as we stopped by stands along the road home to buy pottery, jewelry and rugs. I remember tasting for the first time hopi corn tortillas made with blue cornmeal.
Last May, I returned to the Land of Enchantment with two of my sisters to tour the Georgia O'Keeffe Gallery in Santa Fe and then to enjoy a special visit to Ghost Ranch (where she lived for many years) near Abiquiú. O'Keeffe is one of my favorite artists. Seeing the landscapes that she painted was so inspiring. The skies over the cliffs and mesas were a brilliant blue with awesome cloud formations. It was a sensory overload of orange, yellow and purple with the distant mountains rising up in hues of blue and green.
'Between Heaven and Earth' - This oil painting on canvas (11" x 14"), was inspired by the Matrimonial Mesa at Ghost Ranch (home of painter Georgia O'Keeffe), near Abiquiú, NM. It's part of my “Ghosts in the Rocks” series, from photos I took during a recent road trip to Santa Fe and Taos, NM. The shadows of clouds formed interesting patterns on the magnificent, multilayered cliff walls, red hills and mesas. As I gazed out over the landscape, the cliffs seemed to reach up and touch the sky. It was a magical moment.
Thank you for allowing me to share memories of special road trips with my family through these paintings.
Betty Moore
Photographer / Artist
The following small studies have found homes in private collections. |
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