LORENZO CHAVEZ
My art reflects my deep passion for the landscape of the American West. My hope is that the qualities represented in the art traditions of American painters such as the Taos Society of Artists and the American Impressionists are also echoed in my work.
The work of the Taos Society of Artists had a very early and powerful influence on my desire to become an artist. I first looked at their original art works while at the Albuquerque Art Museum in the early 1970’s, not aware or realizing who there where at the time, I was struck by the high quality and the way they captured the American Southwest and especial New Mexico on canvas and paper.
My appreciation for them and the art they created has only grown more over the many years since that young boy was smitten for the first time by their work. Since then I have traveled many hours to study their works in person whenever their works are on exhibition.
You can imagine my joy about four years ago when discovering the fine collection of The Taos Society of Artists at The Koshare Museum in La Junta, Colorado while out in the area on a painting trip around Bents Fort.
My constant goal as an artist since the start of my art career is to create something deeply personal and meaningful about this special land we call home The American Southwest and to uphold the traditions of the past artists who have created in this area.
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I was born and raised in the southern most point of the Rockies in Albuquerque, New Mexico where the Chavez family settled in 1690. Through the years, while searching for subject matter to paint, I have realized there are many similarities throughout the Southwest and Rockies, I love the deep blue of the vaulting sky, clouds that float and dance, rabbit brush, fragrant sage, chamisa, pinon, pine and juniper, the willows that line the stream banks, the granite in the mountain ranges, aspens and the endless seas of grasses are all subjects for my ever-exploring eyes. I strive to represent landscapes that have a timeless appeal to them. I want the emotion I feel to come through in the surface textures of the art. The colors, textures and light of the western landscape inspire and guide my work. It is the simple glimpses into nature that move me to create.
Rudolfo Anaya in his book Bless Me Ultima wrote beautifully in a few words how I feel about this landscape. “I learned from her that there was a beauty in the time of day and in the time of night, and that there was peace in the river and in the hills. She taught me to listen to the mystery of the groaning earth and to feel complete in the fulfillment of its time.”
www.lorenzochavez.com
