# 61 Storm Clouds

This is the last of May's landscapes, tommorrow, a new theme: I still haven't decided what it will be, but some good ideas are coming to me. JLC

# 60 Taos Mountain Storm

Dramatic lighting only for a moment on Paseo del Norte. One more day left this month, I really need to keep doing landcscapes to be ready for Easton's Plein Air event, I guess a clever theme will hit me over night. JLC

# 59 Taos Gorge Trail

This view is a mile or so further up the trail from my last post, which is a few miles out from the rest area. I keep wanting to see what is around the next bend, but the day wears short on foot; a mountain bike would be a smart way to get around out here. JLC

# 58 Rio Grande Light

Glowing like turquoise, this gorge is an artist's mecca. I discovered the immense potential of this place from the work of photographer Carolyn Lake of Taos, NM. JLC

# 57 Adobe Landscape

In the area I live, there are many old adobe structures, some have been maintained for centuries by the same families, some are just dissolving into the ground and there owners forgotten. One thing is certain, there aren't many places like this left in the USA. JLC

# 56 Morning Light

Morning light bathes new leaves in illuiminated glory, with the snow melt bring life into the canyon. JLC

# 55 Coyote Creek

The endless bends and horseshoe twists of this river, make it especially beautiful for pastoral scenes. JLC

# 54 Comanche Valley

Looking down on the valley farms in early morning as they capture the light coming over Comanche Peak. JLC

# 53 Mora River Bend

This painting's location is about 20 feet in front of the "# 50 Mora River Falls painting, it is amazing what a few feet and a different day bring forth as far as colours. JLC

# 52 Red River Shops

Red River is a ski town set in a village atmosphere, these are actual shops next to city hall. JLC

# 51 Rio Grande from Bridge

Another awesome angle of a favorite topic in my paintings; the Rio Grande Gorge. JLC

# 50 Mora River Falls

Painting along this corridor offers endless perspectives and opportunities to paint. JLC

# 49 Encinal Canyon

Along the dirt road from home, this is a typical setting throughout the valley. JLC

# 48 Mora Valley

These Willow trees like to grow near the banks of the river, this fertile valley at one time was the bread basket of the state. Mora was founded in the 1500's by Coronado. JLC

# 47 Ledoux, New Mexico

The beautiful green tones of spring have finally arrived after some good rainfall. Perhaps next month I will paint some spring flowers. JLC

#46 Las Trampas Adobe Church

On the high road to Taos from Chimayo, the road passes by Trampas, a tiny village and adobe church, along the way. These old adobe churches are the historic foundations of many small communities in New Mexico. JLC

#45 Wild Mustang Meadow

Wild mustangs frequent this place to graze and drink from the pond. The absinthe green grass soothes the eye during the day, and looks like a glowing mint green sea under a full moon. JLC

#44 Taos Outlook

Here is just one the many access points to view the Rio Grande Gorge: in similiar fashion to the Grand Canyon, it is much larger than it looks. JLC SOLD

#43 Forest Road

Today, I didn't have far to go to paint, these pinions caught my eye right outside my studio door. JLC

#42 Moonrise Over Mora

This nocturne was very surreal with a rainbow around the moon, strangely lit lenticular clouds, some mountains in the light ,some not, and Venus just floating by as a witness. JLC

#41 Canoncito Pond

This place is an old farmer's water supply fed by a nearby creek. The "secret" location makes it a great spot to picnic, paint, or to just relax while listening to the flowing water with the canyon wind wisping through the trees. JLC

#40 Sunrise Over the Sangre de Christos

In this scene the light only lasts for a few seconds every morning, but is very much worth the pre-dawn hike to catch it. JLC SOLD

#39 Canoncito Moonset

As the moon sets over the mountains, their long shadows casting through the trees make dramatic stage-like effects on this upper meadow. JLC

#38 Forest Stand of Blue Spruce

Our upper meadow is a painters dream with so many locations to paint. The little tree in front is a Red Juniper the others Blue Spruce; their forms are very distinct. Capturing the individual character of plants and trees with a brushstroke is a big part of the difficulty in plein air painting, it soon becomes a lifetime study in itself. JLC

#37 Small River Lagoon

Mora River's many access points offer some great painting locations. Today the breeze keep the critters away. JLC

#36 Ridgeline View

A break in the thick forest giving way to a view of the ranges of trees surrounding us, trees seemingly as thick as the fur on a grizzly's back. JLC

#35 High Mountain Pond

One of the many fruits of living in the mountains is finding these secluded spots. This quick study shows the rich contrast of light and dark in a beautiful natural setting. JLC

#34 The Mora Mountains

These big clouds have been blowing by for the last couple of days: after venturing up to the top of the mountain today to paint, rain kept threatening me; so back down I came, this was painted from my studio window looking due south across the valley. JLC

#33 Palm Canyon

Even harsh desert settings spring to life when the water comes, and they look beautiful when painted. This canyon is actually a real oasis. JLC SOLD

#32 Upper Meadow

This meadow is frequent fodder for my paintings, shown here today with the late afternoon long shadows and the hazy light of the distant mountain canyons. JLC

#31 Taos Mountain

***May 2006's theme is "Landscapes"; after seeing so many wonderful settings to paint, the call of nature wins out; studying the textures of nature I find exceptionally challenging: spring flowers have come late this year so I will paint them another month....
One day after crossing the John Dunn Bridge, and then driving north for about 20 miles on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, these pink and blue mountains appeared with the afternoon sun. JLC