Monday, November 10, 2008

At Home With Georgia O'Keefe

There's a haunting beauty to Georgia O'Keefe's beloved Ghost Ranch, located 65 miles northwest of Santa Fe. O'Keefe bought a house and seven acres here, in 1938, where she lived for more than 50 years. Massive rock walls colored with wide mineral striations are topped with rock spires that jut purposefully into the brilliant blue sky. She painted most of her landscapes at the west end of the ranch, including the twisted juniper trees that also captured her interest.

But O'Keefe valued all kinds of natural beauty and purchased her second New Mexico property about seven years later. Located only 13 miles from Ghost Ranch, her other home and studio offered totally different panoramic views. One of the earliest people to install picture windows, O'Keefe looked out on quiet mesas, mountain vistas, wide fields and spindly cacti from her simple, unadorned white bedroom, where her collected stones and bones lined the window sill.

Just as her natural surroundings shaped and inspired O'Keefe's art, her art captured the spirit of this wild and wonderful environment for generations to come.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I always enjoy your posts and wish you all the best!

Kerry Dexter said...

Lisa,
thanks for posting about Ghost ranch and Coyote Cafe -- been far to long since I've been to New Mexico.

and what a fine way to celebrate your 100th post.
I wish you many more.

A TO THE K said...

Lisa,
I definitely want to enter your drawing!
Congratulations on your blog and on all of your work!
Sheila