77. Original Plein Air Watercolor Painting, “Plein Air, 10am-12:30pm, Riordan Mansion, 5.18.24, Saturday”, watercolor, 30 x 42”, 2024

Location: Flagstaff, AZ

Event: ArtX Flagstaff

In the second official scheduled event of my plein air project for ArtX Flagstaff, I took part in an open paint-out get-together at the Riordan Mansion, just at the edge of the Northern Arizona Unniversity campus, and the historical home of Flagstaff’s founders. While the structure itself is interesting (and, rumor has it, haunted), the most intriguing visual aspect of the property was to me the towering ponderosa pines, dry and beautifully inclusive of rich bright greens, warm orange and brick, deep violet blue silhouettes against the barely cloudy sky. I enjoyed seeing the contrasting scale from a giant mansion to a truly towering old grove of ponderosas. It was fun to paint with the company of another artist, as well as field questions from a few curious visitors to the event.