Welcome to
Collectors Corner!
Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter
102-B Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571
edsandovalart@gmail.com
(575) 770-6360
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Ed’s Adventures: Plein Air Painting & Road Trips
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Ed with His 1974 Dodge RV
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Plein Air Painting Near Abiquiu Lake
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Taken for the Taos Trucks Calendar in 2011
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Fall Foliage in Lutsen, MN
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North Shore of Lake Superior, Grand Marais, MN
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I used to do a lot of plein air painting back in the day. That was before I opened my second gallery on the plaza where I now paint pretty much every day in the parking lot. But I still love to hit the road and paint outdoors, and this summer I'm going to go out much more often in my 1974 RV!
Normally, my trips into nature are peaceful, inspiring and relaxing, but New Mexico is still the "wild west" so to speak, and there are always exceptions. The weirdest (and most frightening) thing that ever happened to me while painting –
there was a crazy guy who pulled a knife on me!
I was up in the back of my Ford truck, and I had a big canvas propped up against the cab. It was a beautiful day, and I was happily painting the mountains, clouds and fields.
Suddenly, this rough looking guy with wild eyes, dirty clothing, stringy hair and a peg leg (I'm not kidding - he had a wooden leg) was rushing toward me. He was yelling at the top of his lungs, “Hey! Do you have a permit to paint here??? Do you have a permit???” I was in a remote area, in the middle of a field with nobody around for miles. He really startled me, and when he kept screaming, I got pretty nervous.
I was trying to think of what I should do or say, when he pulled out a knife and started attacking my front tire! I launched myself on top of him, pinned him to the ground, got his knife away from him and instinctively held that knife to his throat to stop him. I can’t remember if I said anything, but at that moment I heard “ssssssssss,” which was the air escaping out of my front tire. I knew that I had to get out of there and drive home before that tire went completely flat. I got up, got in my truck and left. He was still on the ground – I think I knocked the air out of him. I had his knife, but I threw it away at some point. I didn’t want that negative energy around me.
That sort of thing is extremely rare. I’ve been painting for decades, and that’s the only time I was approached by someone who wanted to do any kind of harm. I do have people approach me – normally it’s a property owner who wants to know what I’m up to. I explain that I’m just painting and offer them a poster (I keep a supply of posters in my RV for just such situations).
Sometimes I don’t have my easel or paints with me, like when I fly somewhere or if I’m taking a short road trip, but I have my trusty camera. I love taking photos. There’s so much beauty out there, like fall in upstate Minnesota when the trees are ablaze with oranges, reds and yellows, or the desert skies of New Mexico and Arizona when the sun lights up the puffy clouds. I can’t wait to get out into nature this summer and paint!
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Picuris Mountains near Ranchos De Taos, NM
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Featured Paintings
To inquire or to request a high-resolution photo, please contact Ed at 575-770-6360 or by email at edsandovalart@gmail.com.
Right: "Retablo Saint on Antique Louvers" (on display at Sagebrush Inn)
Left: "Spring in Chimayo" (16 x 20)
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"St. Francis Taos" (48 x 60)
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"The Winding Road" (30 x 60)
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Easter Weekend at Santuario de Chimayo
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Each year, thousands of people embark on a long pilgrimage to
El Santuario de Chimayo
during Easter weekend.
Starting from Taos, Santa Fe or other NM cities and villages, the devout often walk for hundreds of miles. They walk as an expression of their faith, to give thanks and/or to pray for themselves or for loved ones. This time-honored tradition has been going on for hundreds of years, and it is humbling to see these good people walking along paved and dirt roads towards Chimayo, sometimes barefoot and sometimes bearing crosses that they will leave at the church.
"If you are a stranger, if you are weary from the struggles in life, whether you have a handicap, whether you have a broken heart, follow the long mountain road, find a home in Chimayo."
Ed's painting on top right: "A Peaceful Place"
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Photo to Painting: Mora Valley
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Above: Old Adobe Casita in Mora Valley
Below: Ed's Interpretation of the Casita in his 2005 Painting "Symphony of Color"
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If you drive past Sipapu Ski Resort on 518 and keep going, you will eventually come around a bend and will look down upon the majestic Mora Valley. Mora is one of Ed's favorite locations.
Along the sleepy road, you will find dozens of abandoned adobe casitas. Ed feels compelled to depict these scenes of forgotten, neglected adobes being reclaimed by the elements. Their crumbling walls expose the straw-strengthened bricks within, and their once-shiny tin roofs have darkened into a deep wine color, contrasting boldly against the blue sky.
For information on things to do and see in Mora County,
click here
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Pictured is Winterbear from the Taos Pueblo sitting on Ed's horse Toronado. Ed will use this remarkable young man as a model in one or more of his upcoming paintings. Stay tuned!
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Tammy and Ed before the Spring Formal in Her Sophomore Year of High School
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Tammy and Ed Hiking in New Mexico
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Featured Collectors:
Edwin & Tammy (Sandoval) Lueras
I’ve often dreamed of coming into big money and buying a big adobe house; anonymously buying as many of my Dad’s paintings as will fit, hanging them in prominent places, and then inviting him over to surprise him at our housewarming party. The best parts of that dream are the surprise for my Dad and the paintings for us!
Snapping back into reality, Edwin, the boys and I have always been content with our humble abode, and beyond grateful for our colorful collection of posters, giclees and paintings.
Ed Sandoval -- my Dad -- is the man of a thousand skies. And I can say, with all of my heart, that he would still be my favorite artist, even if I’d never
met him; not just because of his brilliant use of color, but because his work represents the most meaningful parts of my childhood in northern New Mexico.
The smell of lilacs as I crossed the cattle guard; the sound of tiny rocks grinding under my shoes as I walked down a dirt road; big green open fields, framed with trees, and full of adventure; the tinkling sound of irrigation water; picking wild asparagus, choke cherries and goose berries with my Grandma; running in the rain at night; apple orchards; zinnias, irises, wild roses and marveling at God’s artistry; the peacefulness of resting my cheek against a cool, mud-plastered wall; the eagerness of baby lambs; afternoon drives with my Dad as he searched for something to sketch; chores in the garden; my little brother in his overalls; and digging for treasures in the cold, wet sand along the river.
I don’t know if my Dad really realizes all that he gives when he hands a painting to someone.
And now for my favorite painting... It was maybe four-by-six feet, in size; and was of a little adobe house nestled into a shady corner of the Triggs’ property that dropped down, off of the Nambe highway.
I don’t remember the name of the painting, but I do remember a foreground of warm native grass; Mexican-Hat wildflowers; a small pond; and enormous cottonwoods standing over the little house, like giant body guards.
He worked on it in the sunken living room of the rental we lived in, next door to my Grandpa and Grandma Sandoval’s. I was close to seven years old at the time. And sometime before it was finished, my Dad called me over to him to teach me how to paint details in each of the flowers. I was utterly amazed that he would allow me to help in this way.
After showing me how to gently dip and change colors, he let me continue on my own. I remember feeling so honored. My Dad is a great teacher, and I’ll treasure the memory, forever. I would give just about anything to have that painting, today.
Tammy (Sandoval) Lueras
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Would you like to be a featured collector?
If so, please send your personal story and photo(s) to edsandovalart@gmail.com.
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Contact
Ed Sandoval Gallery
102-B Paseo Del Pueblo, Taos, NM 87571
www.edsandovalgallery.com | (575) 770-6360 | edsandovalart@gmail.com
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