Visual Language Magazine Contemporary Fine Art Vol 2 no 10 October 2013

www.redcliffgallery.com
Connie L. Morse and Dave Sime are two artists who combine the creative
process of painting, sculpting, music, acting and writing along with their
love of travel into a successful career.
The couple met in Montana and began an adventure in plein air painting
and performing that was to last for twelve years on the road. Traveling
in an Airstream trailer with their golden retriever, Elvira and long haired
Himalayan cat, Chang, they painted throughout the west from British Columbia
to the Baja. Side by side they recorded the activities of the people
and landscapes as varied as the ranches of Montana to the last remaining
fishing villages on the Pacific coast.
“I love to paint wildlife says Morse and we’ve spent the biggest part of our
years on the road visiting every National Park and recording the scenery
and animals that inhabit these very special places.”
Both Sime and Morse feel a deep connection with the land and the animals
that inhabit it. As a result their artwork encourages wildlife conservation
and the preservation of open space. Morse depicts a herd of elk studied
in Rocky Mountain National Park in her oil painting: “Royal Gathering”.
Instead of painting in a studio they prefer to paint on location such as the
deserts of Arizona, the Grand Canyon, the Tetons of Wyoming and the
west coast. Each area they visit provides them with new artistic stimulation
and a variety of subject matter from landscapes and seascapes to wildlife
and portraits. For many years, nature has been Connie and Dave’s instructor
and the outdoors their studio.
Feeling the urge to settle down they chose Durango, Colorado as the perfect
location because of the varied landscape painting options available in
the Four Corners region. They continue to paint en plein air and return to
their Red Cliff Studio to complete finished works of art.
www.redcliffgallery.com
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