Former
Moab resident Carolyn Dailey will be showing recent “plein
air” oil paintings of the Moab area starting Saturday,
November 10th at the Overlook Gallery. The show entitled “Moab
Magic” opens as part of the November Art Walk with a reception
from 6:00 - 9:00pm. The artist will be present at the opening
and will be available to sign posters of the show. The show will
run for one month. All paintings are original oils by the artist
and will be for sale.
Overlook |
Carolyn Dailey’s name is well known among the Moab art community. She lived
in Moab for 5 years from 1987 until 1992. Moab is very special to her because
it was here in the glorious red rock canyon country that Carolyn learned to paint “plein
air” landscapes - painting outdoors from life in the “full air.” Many
of her paintings from that time still grace the homes of her friends in Moab
today. Last year her “Moab Magic” show at the M.A.R.C.
was almost a complete sell out.
She was also honored in August 2006 by the Grand County Public
Library when they purchased two of her landscapes for their new
building. The painting entitled “Colorado
River” was painted along the river road near what used to be the White
Ranch and “Dark Angel” was painted at Arches National
Park looking towards the fins. Both paintings were from her personal
collection of favorite paintings from the time that she lived
here and now are on display in the library.
Loving art and winning art awards since her childhood growing
up in Maryland and Pennsylvania, Carolyn came out west to college
where she studied art while earning her Bachelor’s and Master’s
Degrees at the University of New Mexico and the University of
Colorado. Carolyn continued to paint while working in a career
of educational research and has been a professional painter since
1983. She began working as a full time artist in 1987 when she
left her position in the administration at Fort Lewis College
in Durango, Colorado to move to Moab to paint full-time.
The Neck |
Carolyn’s current painting technique was influenced by workshop study in
1989 and 1990 with nationally known painters Mark Daily, Michael Lynch, and Ned
Jacobs at the Fechin Institute in Taos, NM. But her main mentor was New Mexican
artist Frank La Lumia, recent author of “Plein Air Painting: Watercolors
and Oils,” whom she met painting at Arches National Park in the winter
of 1988. She remembers, “He stopped to talk to me while I was painting
the Gossips. He and I and two hardy bicyclists were the only people in the whole
park on that cold snowy day.” La Lumia helped her with outdoor painting
in very practical ways by showing her the best painting materials and equipment
to use as well as different painting techniques, but most of all he inspired
intense dedication. He impressed her by saying that “very few artists are
just naturally gifted - behind every successful artist there are miles of canvas.” So
Carolyn became an accomplished “plein air” artist
by doing at least one painting a day during her years living
in the Moab area.
Since a “plein air” painting must be completed before the light and
shadows completely change, Carolyn’s paintings are usually small in size
ranging from 6” x 12” to 12” x 16”. Carolyn occasionally
does larger studio pieces from photos, but these usually are of complex ceremonial
and market scenes that are difficult to paint from life. Preferring to paint
on Belgian Linen for its elegant surface, she also uses the finest quality of
oil paints and displays her work in gold frames with linen liners. The paintings
in her “Moab Magic II” show are outdoor “plein air” pieces
completed in May and October of this year while the artist was
visiting in the area.
Kane Creek |
After leaving Moab Carolyn
lived for 15 years in Panajachel on the mystical Lake Atitlan
in Guatemala where she painted landscapes as well as the colorful
Mayan people. Her work is represented by three of the finest
galleries in Guatemala - the GALERIA DE ARTE in the old colonial
city of Antigua, LA GALERIA in Panajachel and the CARLOS ARRIOLA
GALLERY in the famous Hotel Camino Real in Guatemala City. Carolyn
has also participated in numerous one-woman shows and group shows
in both in Guatemala and the United States. Her biggest show
held at the IXCHEL MUSEUM in Guatemala City in 1999 was entitled “Dos Mundos, Una Vida” and
featured 25 pairs of paintings showing the parallels between
the landscape and native people of Guatemala and the Himalayan
countries of Nepal and Tibet where she traveled in 1998. In 1993
and 2002 she was given shows at the Durango Arts Center in Durango,
Colorado. But perhaps the most famous art show that she ever
participated in was the 1985 Annual Invitational Show of the
prestigious Salamugundi Club in New York City who accepted a
painting she did of Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. A complete
listing of her exhibitions as well as a variety of her paintings
can be found on her website: www.livesite.net/carolyndailey.
“Moab Magic II” will present approximately 20 oil paintings done
in the Moab area including images from the Colorado River, Castle
Valley, Arches National Park and Island in the Sky. Come see her show and experience
some of the magic of Moab through the eyes of artist Carolyn Dailey!
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