 |
| End of the Canyon 11x18 Oil - Available |
This past week, I joined Eric Rhoads for a live demo in his ongoing daily series with artists. I spent a delightful hour with Eric, the publisher of PleinAir Magazine and a generous supporter of artists, in which I showed how I take a field sketch and scale it up into a larger studio painting. The video was recorded, and you can see it here (https://youtu.be/G7EnK_btKZg):
Below is the gouache plein air sketch I made, which served as a reference for the studio piece. When you compare it to the studio painting (top of the post), you'll see the colors are a bit different. This is because my gouache kit contains a different set of colors than what I have on my oil palette. When going from study to studio, I like to change mediums, as this requires me to reconsider my color mixtures, revving up the excitement in the studio.
 |
| 5x8 Gouache Sketch - Reference |
Although most comments on my presentation lofted me up with high praise, a few made me sad. They had to do with the quality of the video. It was neither my fault nor the host's but that of the inadequate Internet speeds common to rural New Mexico. Although the host was crystal-clear, my image was at times pixelated and ghost-like, making it difficult for viewers to see exactly what I was doing.
To the comments I jokingly replied, “That's the price I pay for living in a stunningly beautiful, rural area.” And this is quite literally true.
Here in my village at the foot of the Zuni Mountains, I am lucky if I can get a 10 Mpbs stream on my DSL connection. And that's only when the schoolkids, who have been working from home lately, haven't yet roused themselves out of bed to enter the “on” ramp. Sure, I could get a much better connection were I to live in a city. Back when I lived in Arizona, near Sedona, I enjoyed a 150 Mpbs stream for about what I pay now.
We do have other options here—wireless Internet, satellite, LTE—but they aren't feasible for a number of reasons. One option we don't have: cheap broadband.
This is the case in many rural areas, not just where I live. But there's no reason cheap broadband can't be rolled out to every home. The Internet has become as crucial to our country as electricity, telephone and the highway. It has joined those three as an essential part of America's infrastructure, and it should be treated by our government as such. Subsidized and price-controlled, if necessary.
Oddly, a few years ago, a company rolled out broadband fiber to the schools in town but, because of the contract, wasn't able to extend that service to any homes. A missed opportunity, indeed.
 |
| Those of you who've seen my studio will recognize that this is not that. To make sure we had the best connection to our inadequate Internet service, we had to set up a faux studio right next to the DSL modem...in the bedroom! |
