SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

February 2001 - Santa Fe, New Mexico

I was excited to get up early and get going on this day. I was staying with my friend Penny at her beautiful South Western home on the outskirts of Santa Fe. It had snowed lightly overnight and all the dark Pinon trees and juniper shrubs were dusted with sparkling snow.

I sat in the outdoor hot tub with my coffee and watched the sun come up over the mountains. We planned to ski a half day at Santa Fe Ski Basin later. But first, I had a painting to do.

I set up in the kitchen looking out at the garden. A wooden carving of St. Francis with snow covered birds on his out stretched arms was calling to me. In the distance the Santa Fe Ski area where we would ski later. I had thought about painting this scene for a while and the painting came together almost by itself - a magical and rare experience! This painting remains one of my favorite New Mexico scenes and it resides on the wall in my California kitchen.

Penny and I went skiing after lunch that day and had great fun skiing from the top of Ski Basin mountain at 11,250 ft. What a perfect day! Painting the morning light and then skiing in fresh snow with my long time dear friend, and all in one day.