Keep the Rio Grande Grand
2010 Plein Air Paint Outs

Soward Ranch Paint Out
Saturday, June 12th, 8am-2pm

From Creede, continue on Hwy 149 towards Lake City for approximately seven miles. Turn left onto Middle Creek Rd. and follow this for five miles. Stay to the right and follow signs & ribbons - the road dead ends at the ranch. See you there!

Featured Artists

Karen Bonnie, Jim Gilmore, Coni Grant, Barbara Ivey, Evelyn Martinez, Susan McCullough, David Montgomery, Randy Pijoan, Steve Quiller, Rita Roberts, and Karen Slade.

For more information on these artists, see our "Keep the Rio Grande Grand" Featured Artists.

What is a Paint Out?
Are you an art lover?  Inspired by the scenic beauty of the ranches along the Rio Grande?  Those two passions converge in the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust’s “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” program connecting artists with conserved lands and our community at large.   The public is invited to join local artists as they paint outdoors on two inaugural “Plein Air Paint-Outs.”  Well known local and regional artists will be painting on-site and available for observation and discussion.  This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to enjoy a spring day on a beautiful river corridor ranch, knowing that it is conserved forever in its current state through the work of RiGHT and our partners.

Plein Air painting is a tradition popularized in 19th Century Europe.  Impressionist painters, including Renoir and Monet, advocated painting “in open air,” which challenged conventions at the time.  This attention to light and color set a new standard for authentically conveying the outdoor experience.  Plein-air painting presents a particular challenge: artists must paint quickly, due to the changing light and weather conditions, which often yields a freer style of painting

Finished paintings will be available for sale on-site, as well as the paintings in progress “off the easel.” A portion of all sales will benefit the RiGHT’s “Rio Grande Initiative,” an on-going project conserving working ranches, scenic beauty, wetlands, and wildlife habitat along the river corridor.

Both of the “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” Paint-Outs are free and open to the public.  Please dress appropriately for outdoor activity including changing weather conditions, wind and possibly mosquitoes!   Feel free to bring a picnic lunch, camera, binoculars, and join us for this chance to enjoy the beauty and abundant wildlife on these exquisite ranches.

Thank You!

Thanks for all our great contributors over the years for

making our work possible!

The Time is RiGHT