Revisiting Pilar
Bob’s latest completion revisits the private chapel in Pilar. The New Mexico village sits on the banks of he Rio Grande south of Taos. When visiting Pilar stop into the pottery/painting studio of Steven Kilborn.
Pilar Chapel 2012
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Recent Paintings
With New Mexico on his mind Bob’s newest works have returned to favorite scenes – a courtyard in Taos, the much loved church at Chimayo and picturesque rural villages. These will be among the paintings he exhibits at the Park Hill Art Club Spring Show and Sale, May 4-6, 2012.
Kilborn Courtyard 2012
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Country Church
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El Santuario de Chimayo 2012
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New Mexico Village Church 2012
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Mini-Quilt 2012
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New Watercolors 2012
Bob is back in sync with his artwork, completing several new watercolors. As snow lingers in our yard he’s thinking of blue skies and summertime.
Sea Sentinel
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Arroyo Seco in Bloom
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Rio Pueblo Vista
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Taos Gates
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This is Colorado
High Road to Taos
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This is Colorado framed work by Robert Yackel.
Adobe and Pottery
Workshop day four started with sketching in the flowery courtyard in front of the Kilborn Gallery in Taos. The building was originally built by Bert Phillips one of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists.
Conjecture of the day was whether or not the wagon wheel framing the window on the right is the original broken wheel that brought Phillips and Ernest Blumenschein to Taos.
Later the class relocate to the Kilborn home for more sketching and lunch before an afternoon of painting at the studio. Stephen’s colorful pottery and artwork decorate the historic adobe home.
Task of the day was selecting the painting each attendee gets to frame for the Friday evening show at the Gallery. Bob chose his canyon work. Good choice.
The workshop show is held Friday, July 22, 2011 from 6-8pm. The Kilborn Gallery is located at 136A Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, New Mexico.
Rio Pueblo Landscapes
Wednesday was landscape day with the workshop group gathering southwest of Taos, overlooking a scenic canyon cut by the Rio Pueblo. Nearby the river flows into the Rio Grande.
Spring green foliage along the river banks glistened in the morning sunlight. The rocky canyon walls later appeared in the artists’ paintings in a multitude of colors. Everyone’s still trying to decide what the herd of animals on the other side of the gorge were – pronghorn antelope, elk, mule deer, sheep, goats? All agree they were not cows or horses. Will Kathy’s zoom lens give us an answer? Update – they were goats, which is what Bob said – right again.
After returning to the studio everyone got busy creating their individual Rio Pueblo interpretations. During the critique session the consensus was that Bob’s colorful rendition was complete. I bet he can’t help but add some final touches.
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Phish House – Sketch & Paint
Tuesday morning workshop participants gathered at a private home, the Martinez House, to sketch and photograph the unique characteristics of the adobe built in the 1920s.
Windows, doors, vigas, stairway and landscape features – each artist found different details to place in their paintings. You can see where Bob drew his inspiration for the day.
Adapting his own style and whimsy there’s more details to be added before Bob considers this a completed work.
Hidden Taos
For the fourth consecutive year Bob is attending one of the watercolor workshops given by Taos artist and potter Stephen Kilborn. The theme Bob selected this year is Hidden Taos, little known locations in the Taos area. This would seem to b a perfect fit since Bob’s favorite subject matter is adobe architecture.
The Kilborn workshops focus on abstracting the landscape. Bob doesn’t approach his paintings with a great deal of abstraction but the weeklong workshops have proven to be great inspiration and motivation. Through these experiences he has found his own style and technique.
The basic format for the workshops is on location sketching in the morning before arriving at the Kilborn studio in Pilar, New Mexico. After a delicious lunch prepared by Stephen’s wife, LaVerne, participants spend the afternoon painting in the studio. Nearing 4:00pm it’s time for margaritas and a critique of the days work. Participants come from multiple states and art experience ranging from novices to art teachers, a comfortable environment for all.
On Monday, the first day of class, the group sketched and gained inspiration from Pilar’s surrounding vistas of mesas, pinon pines and the Rio Grande. Bob never finishes a painting in one afternoon but he got a great start, even having time to incorporate hundreds of his tiny squares. We’ll see the finished painting sometime in the future.
Summertime on Canyon Road
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Bob completed this watercolor some time ago and I’ve been slow to get it on the website. The scene recalls many walks along Santa Fe’s well loved Canyon Road, a narrow, curving street bordered by galleries, restaurants, shops and adobe abodes.
We’ve found that Sunday mornings are a favorite time for us to explore Canyon Road, when all is quiet. An ideal time for photos or just to enjoy the sense of place. Peeking into gallery windows we make a list of which ones we’ll return to visit.
The watercolor Summertime on Canyon Road is 11”x15”, matted for a 16”x20” frame.
Chimayo and Ranchos de Taos Churches
Bob completed two more paintings for the Park Hill Art Club Show and Sale, May 6-8, 2011. (See show details below.)
Chimayo Under Confetti Sky
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The watercolor of the famed Santuario de Chimayo is 11”x15”, matted for a 16”x20” frame.
Evening at Ranchos de Taos
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The watercolor and ink depiction of the much photographed and painted San Francisco de Asis church in Ranchos de Taos is 8”x10”, matted for an 11”x14” frame.
Art by Robert Yackel 