Learning the Art of Abstraction from New Mexico Artist Georgia O’Keefe & Geologist Painter Per Kirkeby

Above Left - Georgia O’Keefe captures a remnant desert tree with a Mesa behind it and Above Right - Per Kirkeby, a former Geologist, went on as a Painter, to explore the rocks behind landscapes, from a place of Abstraction. Each day I hike through the mountains into the desert - in a place so open and vast that it defies the mind as to how to capture it on a human dimension sized canvas. On a walk I move through multiple experiences: of open space, plants, expansive views up to the Rockies, playful birds, colorful flowers, mystical skies, rich colors, an energy that’s hard to quantify. And then I ponder how to capture all of this from a place of inspiration and imagination. I would like to combine the figurative with the abstract. I’m very taken with the modular shapes of the rocks and the winding rounded shapes of the arroyos. The ethereal quality to the light here and the rich earthy tones of the soil - which can shift within a few miles of hiking, depending on the rock found there. In my Studio, I have natural (local) pigments to work with that I will mix with acrylic paints, as a base. The use of art chalks also feels right to me as tool for portraying the chalky quality of the rocks found here. I’m currently taking each day one step at a time and with each exploration learning what I need to know for the next adventure of creating.