There was a time a long time ago when I considered signing my name on my paintings with my initials, because a landscape painter named “Dawn” seemed a little too sweet, maybe even cliche´. I’m glad I got over that. According to my mother, it was my father who...
musings from the studio and beyond ~
dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .
dawn chandler santa fe artist
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...
what do you call a gathering of 1000+ painters?
I don't think I've ever witnessed 1000+ painters gathered together under one roof before. Certainly I've never been one of 1000+ painters gathered together under one roof before! But that's exactly where I recently found myself, when I attended a convention of...
on the margins of life with MAD magazine & me . . . .
I adore treasure hunts. Invite me to an Easter egg hunt and I devolve into a tunnel-visioned child, giddy with anticipation of finding pastel-colored treats hidden in flower beds. I adore advent calendars and lockets and old-school CrackerJacks for the treasures...
a winter roadtrip with my muse, part two
Not all the art I made during my little solo sojourn were in my sketchbook. Another of my goals was to do some plein air painting — something I hadn't done since late December when, the day after my car accident and day of my 53rd birthday, my pup and I went for a...
a winter roadtrip with my muse, part one
I knew I needed a break. I knew I needed to unplug. I knew I wanted to remove myself from the familiar, and just paint, just read, just write. Just think. Just not think. Just be. Without chatter. Without pinging and lights and alerts and the...
of car crashes and thwarted resolutions
I've always loved the turn of the new year. I know some who people eye it with dread or sadness with the reminder of the passage of time. Their sad focus is on aging, and regrets. But for me the turn of the new year is a time of excitement and cheerful anticipation....
the unusual transformation of a landscape
It's a few hours away from the first day of winter and I suppose I should be writing something solstice-y or festive-y or fa-la-la-la-la-lish But as much as I love this time of year, with the relentless sunshine we've been having this month where the skies look more...
of painting tidal rivers and lakeside tool sheds
Walk for maybe ten minutes from my aunt's front door, across the academy yards, past the post office, past the Congregational Church (with a wave down the lane to the Unitarians), past the town hall and bandstand, and make a quick right turn into Me &...
the colors of my world….
These were the colors of my world today at 4:30a.m.... and these these were the colors of my world today at 8:30a.m.... And somewhere in between the two, the colors of my world were these.... { ~~ blissful sigh ~~ } OHhhhhhhh, BLESSED DAY!! For...