Thursday, April 1, 2010


We did a tour with a docent at the O'Keefe Museum , and were able to see many paintings that were new to us. The exhibit included quotes from O'Keefe, and I really enjoyed reading her words. She was a fiercely independent, kind, generous and spiritual person, who was so dedicated to her work that she had little patience for anything outside of it.

We toured her house in Abiquiu, about an hour north of Santa Fe, and saw her kitchen, living area, studio, bedroom, and the black door on the adobe wall, that she had painted many times. No photo's - visitors are not allowed to bring any kind of camera, or even a phone on the tour. The tour guide showed copies of her work, while showing the scene she had painted. It was obvious that she was able to isolate the elements of the scene she most wanted to illustrate, and use heightened colors to represent the feeling she had about the landscape. I loved being able to look at her brushstrokes - which are barely visible, and the way she was able to make shapes that have such round, sensuous shapes out of very rugged country.

It was raining on and off, so I wasn't able to get too many photo's - this one of the red rock cliff is from a bit further up the road. The sun kept going in and out of the cloud's and changing the light. It was a truly awe inspiring scene. (You may get sick of me using that phrase!)

1 comment:

  1. Okay so Jeanne, I just went to the O'Keefe abstraction exhibit at the Phillips which was mind blowing. It was huge and fantastic. I had been to her museum in Santa Fe, and I agree she is just so cool. Can't wait to see you in Jersey...
    check out my new website www.karen-schulz.com it's fully operational just needs a little tweaking still. Karen

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