There’s a reason we put a big yellow sun on the sign outside Waxlander Gallery & Sculpture Garden. That cheerful egg yolk appears in many of our founder Phyllis Kapp‘s watercolor landscapes. The sun is a symbol of our bright beginnings, and represents the glow that Phyllis’ work casts on all of the wonderful art that has populated our gallery since she opened her Canyon Road studio in 1984.

That’s why we’re always excited when a new batch of work from the octogenarian art maven comes into the gallery. Phyllis’ vivid colors and whimsical titles add fresh warmth to our gallery’s walls. Here are some of our favorite watercolors from her latest series:

Filled With Joy – Phyllis Kapp

“Filled With Joy” ~ The delicate tones of this sunrise give us great expectations for the day ahead. Phyllis expertly uses negative space to suggest the form of the sun, who rubs the clouds from her eyes as she awakens.

Heaven’s Marriage – Phyllis Kapp

“Heavens Marriage” ~ Dramatic red cliffs caress a rosy sky in this love story between land and heavens. We particularly love the gestural lines of the desert flora, which look as though they’re floating underwater.

Meant To Be – Phyllis Kapp

“Meant to Be”~ Three ribbons of bright primary color give this painting stunning dimension that’s enhanced by the loose diagonal of the departing birds. The glowing tree reminds us of the golden apple tree in the tale of Hercules.

Floating – Phyllis Kapp

“Floating” ~ A setting sun casts its last rays into a valley, illuminating yellow blades of grass in the foreground. Dusky greens, blues and purples encircle the brighter hues and make them glow.

The Moon And You – Phyllis Kapp

“The Moon and You” ~ Phyllis’ egg yolks become silver dollars in her night scenes, but the bright colors of the day never completely dissipate. The hills still radiate the warmth of the sun, contrasting with a night sky that’s studded with icy diamond stars.

Read more of our blogs about Phyllis here, and check out our Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages for updates on all of our artists.

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Kiss Me… That’s All – Phyllis Kapp

It’s hard to catch Phyllis Kapp in an idle moment, so when I call for an impromptu interview about her latest work I’m not surprised that she’s busy filling her suitcase.

“I’m going to Chicago again!” she says, her voice a bit muffled. “Just a second, I’ve got to get something from my closet.” There’s a distant scuffle, and then a short pause as Phyllis gathers her thoughts. Our founder may have turned 82 in December but in art and life she’s always in dynamic motion.

“My new body of work. I have done 12 new pieces of varying sizes, from 4 by 6 to 26 by 18,” Phyllis says. The watercolorist’s paintings are always high key, but her most recent works push her palette in the deepest, most vivid directions yet. “Kiss Me… That’s All” possesses the reds of a sunrise and the blues of moonlit midnight. “True Love” is a rainbow of color that captures every hue you’ve ever seen in Abiquiu.

True Love – Phyllis Kapp

Phyllis has to finish packing, but I sneak in one more question. “How do you choose your colors?”

“None of my colors are ever a conscious decision. They just come,” Phyllis says, sounding for a moment like she’s lost in a daydream. “I in fact don’t even know what colors are dominant in this body of work.” Perhaps that’s because she has used every single one.

Seconds later, Phyllis is gone. I imagine her zipping up her bag and dashing out the door, ready for the next colorful adventure.

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Stop by Waxlander for holiday warmth

The One I Love – Phyllis Kapp

It’s the coldest time of year, but Waxlander’s artists have hardly let the frost spread to their palettes. Our entire stable provided new work for our “Holiday Aglow” show this year, and their vibrant canvases will be keeping our gallery nice and toasty until January.

Denver artist Andree Hudson‘s acrylics glow with high desert sunshine even when her subjects are caught in the dead of winter. In “Winter Coat”, bright yellow tones blanket a lively beast who seems to know that the best way to stave off winter’s chill is with a warm spirit.

The land she loves might be blanketed in snow, but Phyllis Kapp has had no time to hibernate. She just crowned her whirlwind year with a trip to Chicago, where she was featured in a new wing of the Peoria Riverfront museum. The crisp, pure colors in Phyllis’ summery Southwestern landscapes reflect our remarkable founder’s unbridled energy, and are particularly refreshing during the darker months.

Paul Cunningham often employs cooler tones in his acrylics, but you’d be hard pressed to find one without a burst of red, yellow or cream. A pair of colorful fish huddle close in a chilly sea of blue and grey, but the swish of their tails is unmistakably joyful in Paul’s “Aquatic Splendor”.

When Nancy Eckels gets in the holiday spirit, you know it. Great plumes of color erupt from “Champagne Nights”, cutting across the patchwork grid that usually binds her compositions. It may be a few weeks away, but Nancy’s already gearing up for New Year’s.

Before you hit the champagne, come sip cider and experience “Holiday Aglow” with us during the Canyon Road Farolito Walk on Monday, December 24. We’ll be open all evening, so swing by for a hot beverage when your toes start to freeze. You’ll find that colorful art makes pretty great insulation. “Holiday Aglow” will be up through January 1st, 2013.

Winter Coat – Andree Hudson

Champagne Nights – Nancy Eckels

Aquatic Splendor – Paul Cunningham

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Phyllis Kapp shows in the Windy City

Our Days in the Sun – Phyllis Kapp

When you’ve lived in the Land of Enchantment for almost 30 years, the magic starts following you. Phyllis Kapp’s recent trip to Chicago may have been a homecoming (she was born and raised in the Windy City), but she was there to help christen a little piece of the Southwest that recently landed at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

The Smithsonian-affiliated institution’s new Southwest wing houses the collection of Charles and Jeanette Gilchrist White, longtime champions of prominent New Mexican artists like Kevin Red Star, John Nieto, Margaret Nes and our lovely founder herself. It seems that wherever Phyllis went, from the Art Institute of Chicago to the unveiling of the new wing, she discovered windows back to O’Keeffe Country.

“When Bonnie gets here, I’m going to take her to the Art Institute of Chicago,” Phyllis said over the phone a few days before her exhibition. Our gallery director Bonnie French was flying there for the Riverfront show, and Phyllis was eager to give a tour of her alma mater. “Walking up those steps between the lions, it’s meaningful,” Phyllis said. “There aren’t enough days for me to see it all.”

Phyllis Kapp with Charles and Jeanette Gilchrist White

Bonnie arrived and the ladies explored the nearly one million-square-foot space. The institution has 300,000 works in its permanent collection spanning 5,000 years of art. Tucked among the works on show were some familiar names from back home.

“They have the most beautiful Georgia O’Keeffes. Well, besides the ones in the O’Keeffe Museum,” Bonnie says with a smile. “They’ve got a few pieces from the Taos Five, too.” If you get a chance to visit the Art Institute and you’re lucky, you might even see Phyllis’ work hanging on the walls. “Since she went there as a student, she actually has pieces that are in their collection,” Bonnie says.

As the Riverfront opening got closer, Phyllis and Bonnie tried to guess which watercolor might appear in the new space. The Gilchrist Whites own works spanning her entire career, so there was no telling what might be chosen. When the day arrived, they got their answer right away.

“The new Southwest art wing is in a special section, but you can see it from the main entrance,” Bonnie says. “Right as you go in these beautiful glass doors, there’s Phyllis’ work right there.” The featured piece was “Our Days in the Sun”, a recent work full of vivid pinks, reds and oranges that cast a bright New Mexico glow on the gathering crowd. Phyllis was equally as radiant.

“She was the belle of the ball,” Bonnie says. “She talked to everyone. She told them how she fell in love with the landscapes of New Mexico, how the skies are so beautiful and the air is so rarified that the colors are enhanced.” Phyllis even gave a speech and talked about the pure powdered pigments she uses to capture those vivid hues.

Our dynamic duo also explored the rest of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, which shows both science and art exhibitions. “They have a giant planetarium with all the stars in the known universe,” says Phyllis. It might seem like a peculiar place for a collection of Southwest art, until you think of our artists’ close ties to nature—and our crystal clear view of the heavens on most nights.

Of course, the most spirited part of the Southwest in Chicago that week was Phyllis, and we’re very glad to have her back!

Phyllis Kapp looks back to the future

I’m Here to Stay – Phyllis Kapp

Phyllis Kapp‘s latest exhibition is a bit of a mystery, even to her.

Our beloved founder is in Chicago this weekend to attend the opening of a special show at the Peoria Riverfront Museum featuring work from the Southwest art collection of Charles and Jeanette Gilchrist White. The duo has been collecting Phyllis’ work for the last 20 years, so it’s hard to say what will show up in the brand new wing of the museum at Saturday’s opening.

“It’s a very big honor, of course,” Phyllis says over the phone from Chicago. “I know the last two works they purchased, but otherwise I’m not sure yet.”

In Each Others Arms – Phyllis Kapp

You always get the sense that Phyllis tends to look forward rather than back—she might be an octogenarian, but this year she’s done everything from paint the poster for the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta to fill our gallery with a whole new series of beautiful watercolors.

In this case, Phyllis can’t resist a trip down memory lane. The artist was born and raised in the Windy City, and attended the Art Institute of Chicago and Cornell University.

“Every morning I get on the bus and go to the Art Institute,” she says. “I went to school there, so walking up those steps between the lions, it’s meaningful. There aren’t enough days for me to see it all.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then Phyllis continues. “I was 18 when I went there, and now I’m 81. If you just flip the numbers, I’m the same age!” Even on a return journey, Phyllis keeps her eye on the path ahead.

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