Arturo Chavez, a thirteenth-generation New Mexican, was raised amid the spectacular vistas of Northern New Mexico and always felt an affinity to the land, seeing his landscape paintings as an act of preservation. This show holds strong to that principle and brings Chavez’s love of his native landscape to his collectors world-wide.
Cover: Timeless Beauty , 36" x 60" Oil
Self Portrait 40" x 30" Oil
The Grand Canyon is one the most beautiful places on earth; one that I feel a deep sense of awe and diminished ego when in the presence of this geologic planetary giant. I’ve spent many hours, weeks and years painting and contemplating this wonder of the world, and so felt moved to paint my self portrait with the Temple of Zoroaster in the background located just above and to the left of my figure.
Place Where the Lightening Strikes
30" x 60" Oil
Rock of Ages
40" x 80" Oil
Above the Whirling Din
24" x 36" Oil
As a pilot, my favorite place on the planet is “Above the Clouds”. Here, I find solace from the clanging noise of the earthworm existence of the world below.
The La Bajada Escarpment lies between Santa Fe and the Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico. It’s a beautiful, rugged basalt cliff about 600 feet high above the valley floor.
“Near La Bajada” is an out cropping at the mid-southwestern edge of the escarpment. I felt that this unassuming quiet spot was the perfect respite to paint.
Heaven’s Gate
11" x 14" Oil
While in frantic pursuit to catch the sunset on the natural arch at the La Ventana National Monument in central western New Mexico, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of this beautiful backlighted mesa called the “Sandstone Bluffs”, across the Acoma reservation, and looking west into the sunset. I made an abrupt stop, turned around, pulled out my painting gearand camera and feasted on this incredible sacred rocky mesa.
Long Arroyo Sunset
19" x 32" Oil
Home of Thunder Mountain
48" x 96" Oil
From the Latin - cumulus, “heaped” and nimbus, “rainstorm”, The Cumulonimbus is my favorite stage of cloud formation. As aviators we are advised to have the ultimate respect for these cloud formations. The up and downdrafts from these giants can be dangerous. Hail and high winds can be disastrous to an aircraft, BUT the sheer majesty and power of the thundercloud is truly one of nature’s awe-inspiring beauties.
Gabriel’s Throne
48" x 96" Oil
O’Keeffe Country
49" x 98" Oil
I hired a Navajo (Diné) Travel Guide to take me out to his private homestead near Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. I took numerous photographs of the various rock formations and terrain, then extrapolated drawings with the horizon line well outside the picture plane to arrive at this aerial view of the ravens flying over the spires. The title, “Three Ravens” begs the question as to where the third raven is: The answer is for the viewer to discover.
Three Ravens
