This painting by Andrea Vargas is entitled, “Summer over the Chama River”.  It is oil on wood.  The charming painting is rich in coloration with a striking scene.

Andrea says of her Plein air paintings, “Plein air painting challenges the will and determination of the artist.  It tests patience and demands humility.  Like the strategy one must employ for a game of chess, Plein air yields the satisfaction of minute movements yielding the glory of a final masterpiece.”

Andrea thoughtfully says of her new work:

“My paintings take place on the desert soil know as Piedra De Lumbre, in New Mexico—a sacred landscape from where I watch the sun rise and set over red earth and juniper trees, and my new series based on this land is bound together by the title, Cielos De Arrebol.

In Spanish, the word “arrebol” has a particular meaning tied to the atmosphere: It describes the colors in the clouds evident when the sky glows in the pink-ish sunlight at a certain time of day. My new series focuses on geographical landmarks that are signature to the region, such as the mountains surrounding Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu Lake and the Pedernal. As a point of reference, most art historians immediately recognize the blue Pedernal mountain area in O’Keeffe’s paintings; I painted several miles southwest from this well-known vantage point, at Casita De Arrebol. The change in location provided a change in perspective, a new angle on a well-known subject.