Sunrise Sunday morning, September 16 found me sitting in my car staring eastward from a shelf of land where the New Mexico mountains meet the eastern plains. I'd come up here to paint. I was feeling lackadaisical. Too, I was hoping for the arrival of my friend who had...
musings from the studio and beyond ~
dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .
Dawn Chandler
walking into the storm with arms open wide ~ crane painting, iv
That thing you've been avoiding? That thing you've been putting off, 'been skirting around? That thing you don't want to do is the thing you have to do. That thing you fear? Time to face it. Do it. Do it now. Go walk into that storm with your arms open wide. ...
celebrating grace: their wings fill my heart with prayer ~ crane painting, iii
There are so many layers beneath this painting…. so many ways it came in and out of being. So many hidden shapes, hidden colors. But that spirit figure… see her? She remained throughout. She wouldn’t be hidden by the layers. Always she was there. Always she is...
painting process: the aspen pillars of my cathedral
Yesterday a friend shared with me that she’s recently taken up painting, and that she’s “learning and loving it.” (how cool is THAT?!) She further revealed that she’d really like to shadow me at my easel — and that reminded me that over the past few months I've taken...
saturday grace: secretly, joyfully, clearly ~ crane painting, ii
I was cruising along on I-25 and had just crossed back into New Mexico when somewhere between Raton and Springer something way overhead caught my eye: Wait... what is that? Dozens and dozens of birds, gliding at an impossible altitude. What ARE they?.... I had never...
new for you, each saturday morning ~ honoring grace
One of my great joys in recent years has been observing, learning about, and following Grus canadensis — the Sandhill cranes. I’ve written a good deal about these beautiful beings — here and here — and how I’ve come to love them. Some people feel a kinship to certain...
under the spell of new mexico gold
Something magical has been spreading across New Mexico this September… I’ve never seen anything quite like it. And I’m not the only one stunned by it. I go out each evening to walk and find, despite distressing world news, I’m smiling. And there’s...
heartache turned to beauty turned to giving: own a limited edition philmont print
Chances are you were glued to your computer those first days of June, desperate for more news of Philmont and the Ute Park Fire. If you were able to sleep at all, likely you went to bed each night with nausea in your belly, and your head pounding with anxiety....
we interrupt this summer to bring you….
pathways.... and waterways... and walkways .... we interrupt this summer to share meals… meditation… direction.... and glimpses of yesteryear.... ... to share the welcoming of shelter ..... ...
painting my way back to philmont….
Over lunch, I had commented to my friend that I was shocked we hadn’t suffered any fires yet. The winter and spring had been worrisomely mild, and the winds had howled across April and May. And yet here it was one day from June and New Mexico had hardly...