Artist-in-Residence at the Rocky Mountains National Park

In the early morning you sit on the wide veranda of a stone cabin in the Rocky Mountains and watch a herd of elk meander across the grassy sea of a glacially-formed valley. The morning sun gradually illuminates the surrounding mountain peaks, from the Never Summer mountains at one end to Longs Peak towering over 14,000 feet at the other.

For two weeks, this was the pleasant life of Grass Valley painter David Mooney as he served as Artist-in-Residence in Rocky Mountain National Park. The cabin, built in 1874, was the summer home of famous Kansas newspaper editor William Allen White, who was visited there by friends like Teddy Roosevelt. It now houses six different artists during the park’s summer season.

The artist’s only official duties are to give a talk each week to park visitors, and to donate within a year a piece of art inspired by the residency. They are otherwise free to wander, paint, contemplate, hike, photograph, sketch, and gain inspiration in any way they please.

The theme of beauty in God and nature runs through David’s paintings, and he was truly moved by the amazing beauty of the park. Set on the continental divide, it supports a host of different ecosystems, from wooded forests to mountain tundra. Light is another constant theme in Mooney’s acrylic paintings, and the residency permitted him to experience the same scenes illuminated by changing light, from sunlight breaking through morning shadows to the warm evening glow. The tumbling waterfalls, peaceful lakes, churning rivers, stormy skies, and rugged peaks have provided him with a lifetime of inspiration.

David wholeheartedly recommend this program to other artists, and gives this information. "When you apply, you send a resume, samples of your work, and a written statement of purpose. You must be a professional, but their definition is very wide - you must either sell your work (you don’t need to make a living from it), teach, or have entered a juried show. Do a Google search of RMNP Artist-in-Residence to find the Park’s site with information and application forms."

Hallett Peak by David Mooney

David shares the first fruits of his time as Artist-in-Residence at a festive Studio Open House on the afternoon of October 9 at his Grass Valley studio and gallery, as part of the Western Nevada County Open Studios Art Tour & Sale. There will be displays of photos, sketches, and plein-air studies from the park as well as demonstrations showing how an artist takes such preliminary work and turns it into a finished painting. Visitors can also browse David’s paintings of local landscapes, Yosemite, and English and Scottish scenes, for which he is well known.

The event is geared to the whole family. David’s wife has organized special art activities for children, and refreshments will be served. Local band Three Times Though performs Irish, Scottish, and old-time American music. David might also play some tunes from his new CD of Scottish fiddle tunes, A Land So Long Ago.

For more information on David’s art, the Studio Open House, and his classes and workshops, see his website at www.davidmooneyart.com.