Wednesday Wanderings: And the winner is . . .

Well, Richard is off wandering this Wednesday, so I'm stepping in to write the Wednesday Wanderings post. His wandering this week is tied into the Moab Plein Air competition and it has been wild and fun!

Watching him work this week, I've come to realize that there is a special energy about painting from life, trying to catch what you can before the light shifts, before the clouds come, before the subject changes. It's painting at its finest: capturing your vision just as it is in one fleeting moment of time, preserving a subject that will never be exactly the same again.

In this competition, artists registered last Saturday and have one week to paint any subject within 50 miles of Moab, Utah. On Saturday Richard had the honor of painting in Moab Plein Air's Main Street Gallery, where he did a painting of a live model whom you may recognize.

The most exciting part of the week so far, though, was yesterday afternoon. Richard participated in a 3-hour "Quick Draw" competition at the Red Cliffs Lodge and Castle Creek Winery on the Colorado River.  He only had 3 hours to find a subject and complete a painting.

To me, that's almost incomprehensible. It's a challenge to create no matter how much time you have, but going from blank canvas to finished, framed piece in 3 hours is a tough test of skill. I think his finished painting was impressive. Apparently the judges thought so, too!

Castle Creek Casks
10" x 8"
Oil on Board

He was awarded first place and a purchase award for this gorgeous piece. My personal favorite part? The barrels. I love the way the light hits them and shows the warm, worn wood.