Welcome, my friends, to December’s Journey of Plein Air 365.

Wow! I can’t believe it’s January 2010. I hope this year finds your loved ones in excellent health and excitement for the new year!

Well, it’s been 365 days in a row. One full year of continuous painting plein air, and what a wonderful 365 days it has been. This time last year, I thought (as many others did) that this was going to be a very arduous, if not, an impossible journey to complete. But now as I look back, I can’t believe that the end of the year is over. And after painting through blizzards, heat waves, sand and wind storms, and even having the flu, not once but twice, I can truly say that I would love to do it all over! Even being sick, standing in -2 to 15° F, in February, I felt that the healing process was enhanced by being where I wanted to be, and doing what I love, painting outdoors. Painting daily makes one understand how finite we as people really are. No two days are the same, even with Colorado’s blue skies, it is never the same blue, the flowers that here today will be gone the next. The beautiful green pastures become the golden harvest of fall, and the purity and cleansing that winter brings, completes the cycle of life and death. It is understood that we, as part of this cycle, must all experience it. This makes me constantly keep in mind that life is too short and precious, so enjoy today, as tomorrow may never come.

December was a very exciting and challenging month to paint. I took the challenge to try and capture the dazzling lights of the holidays. This brought the test of not just painting in the cold air, but painting in the dark as well, and trying to figure out what lighting works the best. Snake light, head light, or maybe even a hand held lantern. Then, there was the occasional time when right in the middle of painting, the batteries ran out. You find out as you change the batteries, that that was the extra set. But, the painting must continue while the eyes try to adjust to the new look of light. Now I have begun to paint like the pianist who is has gone deaf. The pianist knows where the keys are and that he must rely on, much like my understanding of mixing paint without seeing what it looks like on my pallet, let alone on my canvas. This happened more than once and was quite exhilarating when I could finally get into the light and see how the painting came out. These paintings are like the musician: during their song, they can improvise freely, relying only upon instinct. It is quite exciting, yet at the same time frustrating. I even started to do it intentionally just to try to get a better understanding of my pallet, but over time, it became a fun habit. I hope you enjoy December’s journey as much as I did

In closing, I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this year long journey with me. Your kind and wonderful encouragement has meant the world to me. Much appreciation!

I would like to personally invite all of you, my friends, to the opening reception this Friday night, January 8th, from 5pm-8pm at the Center For the Arts Evergreen. 32003B Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen. Please join us for wine, hors’ doeuvres, and the world’s largest one man show of Alla Prima Plein Air paintings. Come and be part of the history in the making event. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Happy New Year!
Ted Garcia

May love fill your heart and art fill your life…

P.S. I have new 365 project that I will let everyone know about next month… yes next month! Plein air 365 continues for another year… at least for now!

www.tedgarcia.com/dec.html
tg@tlcunlimited.com
If you, a individual, company, or charity would like to be a sponsor of Plein Air 365™ by Ted Garcia please contact tg@tlcunlimited.com Thank you.