Land of Enchantment

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

We go to northern New Mexico for its unique light and landscape. To us, the clarity of the brilliant light seems different from that of most other places we’ve had the opportunity to paint. The 6,000-foot elevation of Abiquiu accounts for some of the light quality. There is just less atmosphere to diffuse and scatter light up there. What atmosphere there is, is bone dry so that everything near and far stands out in sharp focus. Against an impossibly blue sky peppered with towering clouds, the topography and rainbow colors of the surrounding mountains, mesas, plateaus and escarpments create the special light the area is famous for.

These same conditions create many challenges for painters, especially those coming from other landscapes and climates. Trying to paint plein air in the middle of the day can feel like staring into a 1,000-watt light bulb, throwing value judgments off. We tend to paint lights too dark and darks too light. We can’t paint wearing sunglasses, so an umbrella is a…