What art offers is space — a certain breathing room for the spirit. ~ John Updike Who doesn’t love venturing into an artist’s studio? Even I — myself an artist — love visiting other creative’s studios. I delight in seeing the...
musings from the studio and beyond ~
dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .
santa fe
my hard new year heart
Walk along the Santa Fe River, and most of the year you'll be walking in dust. Either that, or on pavement. I don't know if its ever been a continually flowing stream, but I do know that human intervention has changed it considerably from what it once was. When I...
returning to autumn in new mexico
I love Vermont and I miss it. Though not a physical resident, in the last couple of years I’ve become a resident of the soul of Vermont. I’ve so much more to reflect on and share about my long walk through the Green Mountain forests. But I am a physical and...
painting among lovebirds, enemies & johnny depp
A week ago my pup and I hiked up to one of our favorite spots high in the forest above Santa Fe. Take one of the major thoroughfares, then turn off onto a well-used ‘unofficial’ trail; after a ways cross a meadow; make your way through the far evergreen grove and...
how a landscape painting evolves
It's always a little amazing to me how a landscape painting evolves. Even though I'm intimately aware of the stages, it still surprises me every time when, in the end, I have something I can actually recognize and identify. Between the first dabs of paint and my...
an aspen sanctuary
A couple days ago I rose before daybreak and drove up into the high mountains above Santa Fe. I’ve been doing this every few days lately, to escape the blistering heat wave that’s enveloped town, but also to exercise My Pup and me. With two backpacking trips coming...
celebration & honoring
This past weekend marked some significant events in my life: June 19 = the 61st anniversary of my dear late parents’ wedding (1954) June 21 = the 83rd anniversary of my sainted mother’s birth (1932) = the first day of summer (always a glorious day) = Father’s Day (yet...