I was a part of the Maynard Dixon Guest Artist Campout 2016 last week It was held at the Maynard Dixon Residence and Studio and the gallery for the Thunderbird Foundation, all in Mt. Carmel, Utah, the heart of Maynard Dixon Country. What a fantastic time. The hosts, Paul and Susan Bingham are very nice people and were very gracious. The facility, of course, was great. A fun historical place to hold the accompanying art show and reception for the artists as well as a couple of dinner events for the artists. I met a number of well regarded artists and had just an absolutely great time. I even managed to get a couple of pretty good paintings done.

I need to explain what the function was. This was not the typical plein air event that I am accustomed to going to. This was much more relaxed and enjoyable. First off, as a participant of the Guest Artist Campout I was not allowed to show any work. That privilege is reserved for the invited artists of the Maynard Dixon Country Art Show which was held in conjunction with the campout this year. I know, it’s a bit confusing. The invited list contained a number of big guns of which I was familiar with and met several of them for the first time. A great bunch to be associated with. The idea of the Guest Artis Campout event is to give interested artists a chance to get acquainted with the show, the invited artists and to be a part of a well respected event held on the property. You can go here to learn more about Maynard Dixon if you aren’t familiar with him.

If you’ve followed me for very long you know I enjoy doing a little dutch oven cooking when we go camping. Imagine my delight when one of the evening dinner programs was a “dutch oven” dinner with oven cooked ribs, taters and veggies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best part of the whole week was the opportunity to paint in this part of Utah in front of the same scenes that inspired Maynard Dixon. I have to admit that it was very challenging and it took me a while to get it figured out but I was finally able to come away with a couple of pieces that were respectable enough to post.

The first day I was in Zion, National Park painting. The heat was almost unbearable and I finally had to leave after lunch. The temp was 104. I managed to get a little watercolor sketch done before I left however.

 

 

 

 

 

I mistakenly drove down to Kanab, Utah which wasn’t far. I have always heard so much about it and had to go see. Additionally, several of the programs with the Maynard Dixon event were going to be held in the little theater there so I thought I’d go check it out. It was just as hot as Zion so I didn’t gain any relief from the heat. I decided to head for some elevation about an hour away in Bryce, National Park. That worked. 78 degrees and a rain shower. That was more tolerable. I found a nice spot in the shade after the rains quit and managed to get a striking piece done as the sun was getting low.

 

 

 

 

 

My last evening there I really wanted to get another painting done but it was so hot I couldn’t get myself to venture far from camp. Fortunately there was a pretty good view developing right there. This painting was of the white cliffs across from the grounds. I tried to paint them a couple of other days but was intrigued by the evening light which was a beautiful golden hue. It got warmer in color as the sun set so I had to work fast.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, the 1st of July I am headed out on a motorcycle painting adventure to northern Minnesota and the north shore of Lake Superior so stay tuned. I’ll post updates as I go but sometimes the internet gets real slow to almost nonexistent when you get out into the hinter lands. I’ll do what I can.

Thanks for following along.

Mike