Rhythm In Repetition

This was painted in the little "hippie" town of Arroyo Secco just a couple miles outside of Taos New Mexico. It is one of the favorite painting sights for my annual Taos Watercolor Workshop in late May. I have painted this old adobe mission many times from different viewpoints and different times of day and yet every year I see it as another interesting composition. Revisiting the same location is like visiting an old friend, familiar and yet inspiring, This was an overcast day and I captured the mood with soft edges of blue and gray in the sky and only a suggestion of shadow shapes. If you look at this painting in terms of shapes you will see a repetition of triangles. The evergreen trees, bell tower, and white facade and roof all started as triangular shapes in the preliminary drawing and then were developed into forms as I used paint for shading and modeling. I added the footpath in the foreground to direct the viewers eye and used little slivers of white paper to lighten the composition. Greens are usually an important consideration when plein air painting and I used color temperature and different values of olive green, ultramarine blue, lemon yellow, and cerulean blue as I mixed the colors of the evergreen trees. For the first time this year, I am teaching a preliminary warm-up session where workshop participants will get an invaluable workbook on painting landscapes. This is a workshop where you can develop your painting skills while having fun with a group of like minded artists. Send me an email if you are interested or would like more information. Happy Painting! Dennis Pendleton