In July 2022 I was the Artist In Residence at Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, and Tuzigoot National Monuments in Arizona, USA.
Tuzigoot
Montezuma Castle
Ruins at Montezuma Well
View from the top of Tuzigoot
Roadside
Hillside at Montezuma Well
My House
Montezuma Well
Painting Montezuma Well on a 110 degree day. Picture credit to park volunteer Susan!
During my two week residency, I had the privilege of hiking, drawing, and painting at Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, and Tuzigoot National Monument. Each monument is 15-30 minutes apart, so I got to see amazing highway vistas as I passed through Rimrock, Camp Verde, Cottonwood, Cornville, and Clarkdale.
I started week one by painting 3-5 hour plein air studies at each location. I don't usually paint from observation, but I knew that I had to experience the landscape this way before I could start to paint mainly from imagination as I normally do. I gained a new appreciation for observational painting and a few sunburns. The more I worked, the easier it was to find the right colors, condense rock formations into abstract shapes, and to give myself freedom to change the painting for the sake of design. I talked with many park visitors as they passed by, took a few group photos, and answered questions about my work.
Although I loved talking about art, I really enjoyed the long stretches where I was able to paint void of human interactions. I started each plein air painting as soon as the parks opened to avoid painting in the heat of the 106 degree days. Thick silence in the landscape was broken by cricket chirps, bird calls, and the wind moving through trees. I noticed and began to recognize the homes of local lizards, birds, and squirrels. Sweat bees, flies, dragonflies, butterflies, and beetles came and went, buzzing haphazardly through the sky. Harvest ants and jumping spiders visited my easel, and once, a large piece of sedimentary rock broke and fell from the cliff at the Castle.
The ancient dwellings at each location were incredible to see, it is amazing that they are still standing after almost 1000 years. Each pueblo was built near Wet Beaver Creek, which pumps water and life into the Valley. The surrounding mesas are populated with dry shrubs and grasses, but descending into the Verde Valley reveals vibrant green Cottonwood trees, Arizona Sycamore, Desert Willows, Maples, and more. During my second week, it rained a few times, causing the creek to flood. I was unable to access my housing for a few hours one day because the road was flooded.
Montezuma Castle. 12"x12" acrylic on canvas. 5 hours plein air.
Montezuma Well. 12"x12" acrylic on canvas. 3.5 hours plein air.
Tuzigoot National Monument. 12"x12" acrylic on canvas. 3 hours plein air.
I also spent the first week collecting pictures, colors, and drawings of the native plants and animals. I love to document color pallets and patterns of landscapes with watercolor in my sketchbook. I took one acrylic painting to many locations where I sat and painted flowers, insects, and leaves. My favorite flower was the Silver Leafed Nightshade, with a small star-shaped lavender purple bloom.
Flora and Fauna, 2022. 12"x12" acrylic on canvas.
All of the plants and animals in this painting I spotted during my residency- all except the Ring-Necked Snake ( I just had to include one).
rocks and twigs
Desert Willow flower
Velvet Mesquite pods
Banana Yucca (top view)
Aloe
Oneseed Juniper berries
decaying Prickly Pear
Ocotillo
Catclaw Acacia
Cane Cholla
1"x1" watercolor drawings of various plants at the parks.
DRAWINGS, PAINTINGS, AND POTTERY
abstract and colors from a rainy day at the Well
yucca
my backyard view
irrigation at the well
rock pattern
abstract study
abstract study
abstract study
abstract
painting in progress!
Plein air + abstraction of Montezuma Castle
painting in progress!
small ceramic coyote
mesa mugs
small plein air yucca painting
Abstracted highway mesa view
colors and landscape from the Castle on an overcast day
Verde Valley, acrylic and ink on canvas. 24"x36", 2022.
This painting combines observational painting with an imaginative bird's eye view of the Verde Valley. Montezuma Well, Montezuma Castle, and Tuzigoot are all connected by Beaver Creek, which brings vibrant life to the valley. Local flora and fauna are painted in the sky and throughout the valley to emphasize how dependent their life cycles are on natural resources, including the night sky. Light pollution negatively affects the processes of nocturnal animals among other things (a link to a NPS article on light pollution and other natural resources is linked below). The five layers at the bottom of the canvas represent the five geological layers of the valley where the three monuments are located: Precambrian metamorphic and igneous, Tepeats Sandstone, Martin Limestone, Red Wall Limestone, and Verde Limestone. The patterns within these layers represent (from top to bottom) the prickly pear, silver-leafed nightshade, western fence lizard, red-tailed hawk, and harvest ant. Below the five layers, the outline of hands, raindrops, and the pattern from a decaying cactus represent the main threat to this ecosystem: water usage and land development.
WORKSHOPS:
Pinch Pots at Tuzigoot:
Visitors stopped by to make air-dry-clay pinch pots. The kids loved to decorate their creations with various press tools.
Kermit the traveling parrot stopped by
a visitor's creation
Paint-A-Long at Montezuma Castle:
I lead 9 participants in a step-by-step painting of the Castle. We all had a good time and everyone's paintings turned out great!
Please email info.gabbyink@gmail.com for any inquiries about purchasing artwork!