July 4 -- Indepedence Day and farewell to Carlsbad Caverns National Park

This morning I saw another fantastic sunrise from my casita's patio. 


This is the last day of my residence. I am checking out of the casita. Before I begin my long drive back to Dallas, I have a few floral sketches that I want to complete.


This is a 5 x 7" watercolor on paper greeting card.


And this is a 9 x 11" watercolor on paper.


I left one painting as an official donation to the park and three others as personal gifts to rangers who were especially kind and helpful to me. I packed up the greeting cards and 3 selected paintings to take home. I left the rest of the paintings for the rangers (or anyone else who might want them).

This has now been my third year as a National Park Service Artist in Residence gig -- and this experience was by far the best. During my time here, I completed 30 artworks! I think that some turned out great and others are disappointments – – but that is the artistic process! Overall, I think I picked up a few ideas and techniques that I will be able to use for future art. 

Carlsbad was such a nice experience that I'm considering applying here again next year. However, I am thinking that instead of painting next year, I might use the residence to write and draw a graphic novel. I have a few Carlsbad-specific ideas…

Thanks for following my blog. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or comments. I can be reached at KFW@prodigy.net.




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