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. . . .
new mexico landscape
the importance of a daily creative practice
A few weeks ago, before most of us were aware that our world was going to shift on its axis, I began a new occasional series of "warm up" paintings. I intended these paintings for my eyes only, with no plan of sharing them. In the past few days I've changed my mind...
santa fe september
Summer has been protracted this year. ~ sigh ~ I’m ready for the days to cool and the colors to heat up into hues of fire. Maybe sharing this painting of an earlier Santa Fe September view will entice Mother Nature to pull out her autumn colors…. (Please?) I began...
the moreno valley & me – part two
[This the second of a two-part series. Read the moreno valley & me, part one here.] When my friend Carol asked me to paint their view of Baldy from the Moreno Valley, it was not the seemingly obvious view from the meadow near the main cabin that I and others had...
the grace of trivial projects
Snow has been falling for hours. And though there doesn't seem to be much accumulation — it's too warm — it's been beautiful to watch. Beyond quenching the earth and sogging the dirt roads, mostly the snow has served to bury my To Do List. There's so much I planned to...
celebrating grace: their return brings song ~ crane painting, v
Their return brings song to my heart. Indeed. As you read this I’ll be packing up to return to the Bosque del Apache, to witness sunset tonight with the cranes and geese. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll return there a few hours later for...
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...
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...
when painting isn’t fun anymore…and getting over it
I work well under pressure. I like deadlines and due dates. At least that's what I've always thought. I remember a few years ago getting ready for a solo show of my abstract/textual landscapes and, just a couple of weeks before the show opening, I realized with...
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...