The Maynard Dixon Artist Campout has just concluded. I’m sitting back in camp with an adult beverage, thinking about what a wonderful experience this has been. This is not a plein air competition but rather a gathering of artists for 5 days culminating with an artist’s reception in the main gallery on Friday evening and today with what was called a wet painting sale in the Dixon studio.

I attended last year as a guest and was invited this year to submit two watercolors for jurying into the main gallery for the big event Friday night. I’m proud to say that both of my paintings were hung amongst some the the top painters in the nation, not to mention two original Maynard Dixon paintings. Maynard is probably best known for his Sunset Magazine Covers. He was the Norman Rockwell of the West. Here is a link for the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts with the line up for the show. This was one of the best displayed and well lit shows I’ve been in.

I went into thank Paul Bingham who has been a long time dealer and collector of art and owns the Dixon property to include the gallery and home and studio, for the privilege and he laugh, throwing his head back and with a big smile and boisterous laugh said, “Well you, if you hang around long enough doing what you do, somebody eventually notices you do pretty good work.” I thanked him.

It was a great show with a good turnout.

If you didn’t make it, sorry to have missed you. The Maynard Dixon Main Gallery Show has long been held in high regard in the serious art buyer circles. The exposure this will bring is huge for me. You still have time to take the show in as it will hang until the end of July.

If you remember, I was in Los Gatos just prior to coming here. Tomorrow I am scheduled to stop at home for a day before traveling on to Meeker, Colorado for another event which take me through the 4th of July. I have changed my plans however and will not be doing that. Being on the road this much comes with a price and on the long drive back from California a week ago, I decided the price is too high for me. I have work piling up back at my own gallery and studio and just coming into the height of our season, my time is better spent in my own galley and studio.

Besides, I am so far behind in paintings that need to be done on the home front I am looking forward to some studio easel time. This isn’t to say that I’ll be chained to my studio easel because painting out of doors, on location is crucial to understanding the effect of light. I also have classes coming up, the first one coming right up in July.

This is an introduction to plein air painting class I will be teaching. If you are interested in something like this, then please register today as space is limited.

I’ll leave you with this image of a watercolor I did here in Utah for the wet painting sale which ended today.

Thanks for following along. I appreciate it.

If you have seen anything here you are interested in, please contact me.