Alfred Currier, Impasto: Painting in Colorado with Joshua Been

Friday, May 25, 2012

Painting in Colorado with Joshua Been

The Grass Is Always Greener, a plein air painting trip through the western states is on the move again. After leaving Ketchum, Idaho, my next stop was to pick up artist Anne Schreivogl in Denver. We headed west and set up camp in Buena Vista, Colorado, halfway between Leadville 10,000' and Salida 7,000'. We painted a little in the historic Leadville and next in Buena Vista, both with unbelievable charm. Thinking about these small Colorado towns, the whole painting trip could have been just in this area.

Anne Schreivogl painting in Salida, Colorado

Salida, Colorado is an arts town with a variety of art from abstract expressionism to classical realism. This is where we met the plein air artist Joshua Been, an up and coming artist who can really paint mountains and streams. "Joshua, would you like to go plein air painting?" I asked. "Sure!" he said with a grin on his face. Joshua Been, an artist to watch, for sure.

Joshua Been, right (Anne in background)

One morning the three of us were painting at Cascade Falls, a fast-moving rapid river. The wind blew so hard that Anne Schreivogl's velcroed palette went airborne some fifty feet into the flowing stream below, never to be seen again. The weather here can test even the most seasoned plein air painter but, it was all worth it. Anne had mentioned earlier that she just wanted to sit on a rock and meditate on the serenity of it all. Well, she got her chance, sans palette.

Here I am painting Cascade Falls in Colorado (with palette)

We awoke to 40 degrees in the mornings but, soon the temperatures rose to the mid-seventies. Oh, I almost forgot, the coffee roasters here are awesome and that comes from a Northwesterner who loves coffee. Next stop will be somewhere between here and Durango, CO.

As mentioned in the last post, the paintings shown below are available for purchase minus shipping and sales tax while I'm on this Western States Painting Trip. They will be shipped directly to you from the road.