On a recent flight into Albuquerque, New Mexico, the pilot asked the passengers to brace for a bumpy ride down into the Albuquerque Basin. “The cabin got real quiet. You could almost hear a pin drop as everyone clung to their seats,” one of the passengers, artist Kathryn Stedham, remembers. “It was unnerving as the plane bumped all the way down. Mentally, I was prepared for the worst. I kept thinking, ‘At least I’m in New Mexico. That’s where I want to be.’”
Walking Rain at Taos Mountain, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
Amid the white-knuckle descent to the desert floor, Stedham looked out the window as the plane flew parallel to the Sandia Mountains. Normally, the mountains tower over Albuquerque, but from several thousand feet, she had a unique vantage point, one that “transformed a tense moment to one of beauty.” One aspect that surprised her were shadows of the clouds, which seemed to sweep over the desert at the base of the mountains. The image stayed with her and is now depicted in one of her newest works, Cloud Shadows, Marching.
Cloud Shadows, Marching, oil on linen, 16 x 20 in.
The work and more than a dozen others will be part of The Expansive West, opening December 4 at Blue Rain Gallery’s location in Durango, Colorado. The show, which will feature an art demo by the artist and a reception on December 5 from 5 to 8 p.m., coincides with Noel Night, a popular holiday event celebrated in Durango.
Night Bird, oil on canvas, 20 x 20 in.
Other works in the show include Walking Rain at Taos Mountain, which was never meant to feature that Northern New Mexico location. “The painting is a miracle. I started out painting something else, but this mountain kept emerging,” the artist says. “ I took it on faith and finished it the way the painting wanted me to finish it.” Later, Stedham was invited to participate in Feast Day at the Taos Pueblo. Her time in Taos is special to her.
Riverbend with Cottonwoods, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in.
“Stedham’s new series doesn’t just show the West. It feels it, in all its light, shadow and quiet drama,” says gallery manager Bekah Kolbe. “These landscapes are at once familiar and strange, pared down to what matters while leaving space for the imagination to roam. The work holds a tension between what’s real and what’s remembered, inviting viewers to step into a West that’s as much about feeling as it is about place. We couldn’t be more excited to share it.” —
Blue Rain Gallery 934 Main Avenue, Unit B » Durango, CO 81301 » (970) 232-2033 » www.blueraingallery.com
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