An Ode to Carol Laroche

I've been going to Santa Fe for vacation for about thirty years. My routine there doesn't vary much, unless a new restaurant pops up. I walk nearly all day every day, visit galleries, do a little hiking and geocaching and watercolor.

The galleries in Santa Fe are quite different in that the employees know the art and the artists extremely well, and are ready to talk about anything and everything with you.

There's only one gallery that I've visited on every single trip, and that's the gallery of Carole Laroche.

She's one of my absolute favorite artists there, and although her gallery moves around on Canyon Road, it's a fixture in the art scene there. Last year, my sister and I spent about an hour in there, with the woman who was working there - she was as much a superfan of Carole's work as we are and it was so enjoyable.

Her sign contains her signature work - her wolves,  the art I fell in love with decades ago. They are pastel, and done so beautifully - if you've tried traditional pastel, you'll appreciate how difficult it is to get the look she gets. The wolves appear to be almost human, and the artwork is very dark, but not scary. You feel sort of drawn in, like you wouldn't be surprised if they walked upright and spoke to you. They have the feel of children's literature about them, and I'm completely enamored. Here's her website if you want to see her incredible work. I really hope I can meet her someday.

She popped into my head when I saw this sweet little pack of pups, so I had to Laroche them. I stamped them on cold press watercolor paper, and painted them in Ultramarine Blue and Pyrrol Scarlet. Then I colored the background black with this Copic marker, and then made the moon and the moonlight with a white Luminance pencil, which is the closest to a pastel in pencil form. I used the sentiment from the set in a little strip across the top. I love this so much.

That little guy that I painted red is so different from the rest - he's so chubby and his ears are different, so he's the obvious star. I went for a completely different look on another card - making him look sort of French with a striped shirt, and some pink cheeks and freckles with a pale pink alcohol marker and a white gel pen. He's adorable no matter what you do.

She also has three bird sets out this month - and what I love about this one is they are big enough to color, AND come with matching dies.

Now I'm no bird expert, so I randomly chose cockatiels off the old Google for a coloring guide. I stamped them in Nocturne on cold press watercolor paper and then painted them. I cut them with the coordinating dies, and put them on a card panel that I brushed Wild Dandelion ink onto with the Sunburst stencil. I stamped the sentiment from this set in Nocturne. That one in the back definitely has the potential to disturb his friends.

 At my class yesterday, we made this card with this stunning new peony. The scale of her images is pretty much my favorite, y'all.

We just did quick flicking to color the petals, and added the sentiment from this set. However - disclaimer - I'm not a call away because I hate the phone. But I'm here for you if you want to text me. Seriously.

 We did this one at class too, with the new round Randomness stencil and some Sea Glass ink, applied with a Life Changing blender brush. The stamp is the new BFF Girl and I love that she's flashing a peace sign. She didn't even need color - her messy hair and slouchy shirt were fine in black and white against the stenciled background that sort of gives the feeling that she's embarking on a trip around the world. The sentiment is from this set, and the sparkly embellishments are these. I cut her with the coordinating die.

There are a ton more new stamps and dies out today, and you can see them all here. I hope you have a nice lazy Sunday, with a little retail therapy :).

Loveyameanitbye.

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