Excerpted from Art Journey America: Landscapes.
Santa Fe Pillows, acrylic/pastel, 53 x 39. Private collection.
David Rothermel grew up near the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania and received much of his art education at the historic Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Rothermel moved to New Mexico in 1981. “For the last twenty-five years as an artist I have been painting and marveling over the true spiritual nature of this land,” he says. “The gratitude I have for being able to participate in the phenomenon that happens when light, weather, space and beauty come together is overwhelming.”
What inspired this painting?
As you approach Santa Fe from the south, you come up a hill and onto a pinnacle, where all of a sudden the lights of Santa Fe appear, with the deep night sky and the stars that look as if they are sprinkled on the desert floor. The image is indelible in my mind’s eye.
What mediums do you use and what are your main techniques?
I use mostly acrylics. The painting shown here is acrylic washes with pastel. My main technique is pouring the paint and spreading it into layers. I then sand the paint to reveal the previous layers. Sometimes I will coat them with resin to give a magnified finish.
What galleries represent you?
DR Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, and Scottsdale, AZ.
Featured in January 2012.