Sedona Plein Air Festival - Day 5

Dawn came with clear skies. Where was the predicted snow? After a hike up Sugar Loaf, I drove down to Jerome for our "Day in Jerome." To entice the artists, the local restaurants were offering us free lunch, and the town, coffee and snack goodies. The coffee was especially welcome - the temperature was barely tickling 40, and the wind was gusting. Some of us regretted not bringing gloves, hats and heavy coats. Fortunately, I'd brought a wool cap, my glomitts and a down vest. But my view required that I work in the cold shade rather than the warm sun, and I regretted not putting on my long underwear!

I painted one of the several bordellos in this old mining town. (For those of you who don't know Jerome, it is built on a 30-degree slope, and at one time it sported 13 hotels, 21 bars and 8 bordellos.) "La Victoria" had a store on the first floor and rooms on the second. Today, it's a beautiful ruin with a glass studio out back. (http://rakugallery.net/LaVictoriaGlass.asp)

"La Victoria" 12x16, oil (not finished - tweaks to follow)

While I painted, clouds swept in, and by the time I finished, the sun was gone. The wind threw a snowflakes across my palette. I packed up and found other artists packing up, too. The skies did look threatening. Several of us headed to the Mile High Grill for lunch. Here's a photo. From left to right: Ken DeWaard, Carolyn Hesse-Lowe, Scott Prior (behind Carolyn), Bill Cramer, Jill Carver, Joshua Been, Cody DeLong.

After lunch, it looked like the snow was going to pass. I headed down the street to set up my gear, and ran across Jill Carver, who was back at work on the piece she'd started before lunch. She'd very trustingly left it up on the easel while we ate. Here's Jill in her winter outfit, plus a photo of the painting. She continued to work on this beautiful piece after I left, and I'm eager to see it in the show.


I had just enough time to do an 8x10 oil before the snow really started coming down. I knew I didn't have long, so I used a palette knife, which made the work go much faster. As I write at home this evening, the light has gone, so I'll take a photo of it tomorrow. Tomorrow is my "tweak and framing" day. I have to everything done - tweaked and framed - and delivered by 6 p.m.!