My RV is a 2003 Minnie with a slide out that gives me enough room to work on up to 24" paintings indoors in unfriendly weather. In good weather I have my awning to give shade while outdoors for larger pieces. My recent purchase is an electric bike which I can travel on for short distances with my backpack to those plein air sites where you cannot park an RV.
I started my adventures in Pennsylvania where I parked in my parents' back yard for 3 weeks to get used to RV living and the maintenance aspects in a safe environment. Half of my friends are envious and the other half think I am crazy - usually divided down the middle between painters and non-painters. Finally leaving the comforts of the back yard, I took off for my first trip to Maine.
New Mexico
New Mexico is one of my favorite places to paint and I have lots of company. My first trip to New Mexico was when my daughter decided to go to college there and we spent a few days exploring northern New Mexico between Taos and Santa Fe before dropping her off at United World College in Montezuma. A local owner of mountain cabin rentals told me "the skies are black with them" when I asked if there were a lot of artists in New Mexico. Most of us will tell you that the light quality is spectacular there and every mountain curve and shift of clouds is a new painting subject. In the towns the people are also very colorful subjects from the authentic locals to the heavily turquoise bedecked tourists. There is a mixture of Mexican, Native American and Hollywood in settlements ranging from adobe pueblos to gated adobe compounds. Some of the major cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe have "Indian markets" on the central square where the tourists can help harvest the seasonal crop of pottery and jewelry from the native Americans. In recent years I have returned to New Mexico many times to either browse the galleries or paint. Since I had already logged quite a bit of New Mexico painting time, I did not I did not stop there on the RV tour. I am including one of my plein air paintings from the Pecos Wilderness, southeast of Santa Fe.
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