West Texas – Chinati Mountains Study #1-7 (and counting… to 12 + 1)

My first major rendition of West Texas was in 2019/20 when I painted a hexaptych (six-part work of art). There is an whole part of this website devoted to these paintings!

• 

During the spring of 2020 – as Covid-19 raged across the world I struggled to find inspiration for painting. I found a photograph that I quickly snapped on the side of the road of the Chinati Mountains in August of 2019. The first rendition of the photograph: “Chinati Mountains Study #1 is a quick study done with oil pastel on sanded paper.

People that I showed it to remarked about the “banana!” didn’t see it when I was doing it….now I can’t unsee it!

I moved soon thereafter to the second in the series. This is IMPORTANT because I have NEVER, EVER painted a subject/landscape/whatever more than once. It was like one of the weird “rules” we have as artists/people; which make no sense at all….

For the next study, I tied the sky into the mountains more than in the first. I really studied the shadowing in the upper rocks; and wanted that to be the focal point. During this study I started to become obsessed with the sotol plants in the foreground…

Leading to the 4th study where the sotol plants are becoming the main focus of the landscape. The sky is becoming less important, with the emphasis on the skyline rocks.

By the time I painted this scene I was in the depths of Covid depression. I collaged a Sudoko book, that I had finished, to provide texture to the sky and mountains. Here the foreground – full of sotol plants that have run wild – becomes the focal point of the painting. Reflecting the truth that in the desert everything is out to get you . . . every plant, insect, animal, everything has thorns, or stingers or fangs or… But they do make an amazing “hooch” out of sotol plants now!

This is a sketch (December 2020) for my next Chinati Mountains Study #5! More to come!

#5 has been different for me to work on, because it’s being done at my studio/garage in Llano, Texas. This means that I only work on it for a day or so with anywhere between 1 to 3 weeks in between. I’m proud of this work! It took me over 3 months to finish; but the final result is so worth it!

The cool thing about #6 painting is my use of a very limited palette – I worked with a split complimentary color scheme only using Teal, Medium Violet, and Cadmium Orange (Golden Artist Colors); with the usual white and black. I did end up adding yellow ochre to the palette in order to make the sotol plants “pop” (but not too much) I did 99 percent of it at home (welcome to Covid-19 painting!)

Finally, I started on #7 today (3/5/21) in my studio! Here is a quick view of the very beginnings! Finishing up #6 is making me think of #8 will be focused on the sotol plants in the foreground…we’ll see! I wanted to simplify the landscape by breaking it down into large shapes. Referencing what I learned from my quilting days, I color blocked the mountains; using a simple palette. I started out doing the same for the sotol plants, but I could not control them! They developed a mind of their own! They did not want to conform to the world around them!

• 

Study #8 will concentrate on the sotol plants – which are taking shape in #7 – asking the mountains to take a step back from their role in previous paintings.

After dealing with the uncontrollable sotol plants; I decided to concentrate on the sotol plants. There are many different sotol species that live throughout Texas (especially between Llano and West Texas), and the ones in the Chinati are especially beautiful. That particular species appears to thrive in the slightly higher elevations of West Texas. I wanted to paint the mountains at sunrise – when it’s cool and the day is all about potential!

#9 began as an experiment using ink on a 10×10 wooden panel. I found it hard to compress my Chinati Mountain vision onto such a small space. I also wanted to let the movement of the wooden panel and how the ink flowed influence the painting.9 began as an experiment using ink on a 10×10 wooden panel. I found it hard to compress my Chinati Mountain vision onto such a small space. I also wanted to let the movement of the wooden panel and how the ink flowed influence the painting.

I started #10 in the Llano studio in May of 2021. I happened upon a photograph of the Chinati Mountains that was taken during the winter where there was a slight dusting of snow on the ground! Since my personal Chinati Mountain experience had been in August, I was drawn to the beauty of the winter scene, and decided to paint it as I imagined it to be! I played with the cool winter light and the reflective, ephemeral snow.

#11 started out as a fiery sunset; but the more I studied the volcanic history of the mountains I knew that I had to paint it. In #11, I wanted to maintain the present day skyline of the mountains. By doing so I can represent the “memory” of the volcanic event on the current landscape (which was 35 million years ago!)

In #12, I want to represent the original volcanic origins of the Chinati Mountains. To accomplish this, I studied photographs and paintings of volcanoes along with the accompanying geology. My goal is to represent the volcano as a living thing!