Of all the presents I've ever bought for myself, this book, Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts, by Donna Poulton and Vern Swanson, might be the ultimate one. I must have been a very good girl lately to deserve it. In fact, I know I have, because no ordinary behavior would merit such a treasure. It came in the mail yesterday and I stayed up long past my bedtime trying to gobble it all up at once.
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| Who could resist with a cover like this? |
The main daydream that keeps me motivated to go to work each day is being able to spend a whole summer in canyon country painting and seeing. Why else would anyone teach school if it weren't for paid summers off? It certainly isn't because 7th graders are fun to hang out with each day, you can take my word for it... It's been one of those long days, does it show?
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| Survival, Tropic Canyon, Utah by Mary Clark Kimball Johnson |
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| Virgin River Flood Control by Ranch Shipley Kimball |
The first section of the book is historical prints and paintings of then-Utah Territory. While that work is interesting and informative, the real part I wanted the book for is in the last two sections- it will touch on Maynard Dixon, Gunnar Widforss and Ed Mell's work, among many other canyon painters. For painting techniques, composition ideas, and color schemes, it's well worth the price. For the joy it's put in my heart- priceless. Too bad it weighs 240 pounds or I'd go soak in the tub with it!
Thanks for stopping by- Alice
9 comments:
Looks like enough inspiration to get you through to summer!! And your idea of summer vacation sounds great - don't forget some Georgia O'Keeffe - and there is a current living watercolor artist (cannot think of the name right now) who paints canyons and those luscious colors - and does workshops - Dan? Dale? UGH! Getting old is for the birds!
Too bad the book won't float in the tub like chinese food does! Enjoy the book and thanks for sharing it's beauty!
Do you mean David Drummond? I admire his stuff in a big way! He's who I would want to be when I grow up if I hadn't already decided to be me.
You know, I've wondered about a special cross the bathtub tray for putting stuff on... maybe I could get rich with the invention!
Yes, David Drummond but there is another who paints more loose - I'll see if I can find the info and send you his name if my brain unthaws :)
I think they already have that, Alice Jo, so maybe it's time to get one for those heavy books - but then how do you get out of the bathtub when you have piled lots of things in the tray over you? ha ha
D'uh! Not even close - It's Carl Purcell and he leads plein air workshops in Zion and Bryce and has been doing that for years. A friend of mine who lived in Arizona took a workshop with him and she loved it - that was years ago but he's still teaching and leading workshops. Beautiful color, bold rich color and lots of cottonwoods and mountains. Check him out if you're interested.
He does great stuff! Thanks for telling me about him. This bears exploration.
"Mrs. Webb, do you remember how you broke your hip?"
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