New Mexico Mailboxes

New Mexico Mailboxes.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel   Sold.

One of the delights about living in New Mexico is
discovering communities full of creative people.
I have painted this group of mailboxes before and have enjoyed
ruminating on the different owners who painted them
The second one in from the left obviously loves balloning.  The blue one has a large
rain cloud with rain drops - maybe they like to grow things?
And I bet the owner of the red one has a happy personality.

Artist Note.

When painting with a strong horizontal design, placing in a vertical
shape helps with balance. The posts provide that, but they are all in a row so having the
evergreen pop up behind the mailboxes helped a lot.
Another thing to watch when painting a group is to have a focal point.
The two tallest boxes should provide that.
They were lower down so I raised them slightly.

Artistic Mailboxes

Artistic Mailboxes

6x8in oil on canvas 100.

This is the close-up view I painted of the Galisteo mailboxes. The community has to be a fun group for them all to have painted their boxes this way. There had to be at least 12 boxes - all painted, all different.

Gourds are growing at the base and wild flowers were scattered about. The adobe behind the boxes had painted water spouts from the roof in a bright pink. FUN!!!

Galisteo, NM. Mailboxes

Galisteo Mailboxes

8x6in oil on canvas 100.

When I was on my painting trip to the Santa Fe area we drove to Galisteo, a beautiful small village outside Santa Fe. Judging from these colorful mailboxes quite a few artists live there.

It is quite a juxtaposition - the earth color of the adobe and the brightly painted boxes. My favorite was the blue one. You cannot tell from the painting but they had painted a big rain cloud with drops descending. Wishful thinking here in the desert.

This was painted from a photograph as there was nowhere to set up and paint except on the road. I have a close up painting of the boxes and will post it tomorrow.