I write this to you from my camp at the KOA in Moab, Utah. I’m here for the Plein Air Moab event this week. Moab is one of my favorite places to paint and I’m joined here by two other Montrose artists, Lewis Williams and Susan Thiel. Painters aren’t the only ones that love Moab. Mountain bikers, hikers, jeepers, all sorts of ATV’S drivers, motorcycle riders and plain ol’ sightseers and tourists from all over the world come here for the fabulous recreational opportunities and scenery.

Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park rank right up there toward the top of the list for many. It’s an artist’s wonderland. Not only do I have the wonderful red rock features and arches but towering over the area are the La Salle mountains and their fall aspens. Oh my. Where to start. Of course, all of this popularity comes with a price. The fall and spring are the two most popular seasons for Moab. The place is mobbed with people. They’re everywhere. Lines are long waiting to get into Arches. Parking in town is difficult, especially when you are driving a beast of a pickup like mine.

It’s quite a different scenario than over at Escalante a couple of weeks ago, which was less crowded but also more remote. Here I’ve got a radio station, not to mention electricity and TV at the campground. Even got to watch the Broncos play, Sunday when I got in and the Vikings on Monday evening. Ha! Life is good. Plein Air Moab is like many of the Plein Air events held around the country. We’ll paint for the week and turn in our chosen painting for a competition on Friday. There is also a sales event for the excess paintings we do. With this many people in town that should be good.

Most artists will get at least one painting a day done, with many doing two or three. If things are going well, some will do four, two in the AM and two in the PM. I’ve done that but it’ll wear you out. I slept good that night. Usually I’ll do two or three anyway. Today I actually got four done but three of them we only 6×9.

Of course, some turn out better than others. The goal for me is to capture the essence of the scene in front of me. It’s real tempting to always paint the grand vista but often there is opportunity in the smaller more intimate motif like a blooming rabbit bush or an old fence rail or something. It’s tempting to drive around too much looking for a painting. You see something that’d make a great one but the desire to see what’s around the next bend is to overwhelming. One must take it while it’s there.

The time of day and the effect of light, or lack of, makes a difference. Monday was windy and overcast so the light was real flat. Hard to paint the contours of all the red rock features when it’s like that. Tuesday was snny and beautiful. Today was cloudy and cooler. Sometimes you just have to make something work. I’d include some photos of the paintings and the area in general but the internet service here at the KOA, while better than what I had in Escalante a couple of weeks ago, isn’t good enough to send images. So, unfortunately it’ll have to wait until I get back next week. Stay tuned, it’ll be worth it.