Elizabeth Kinahan, who has painted the bucolic cattle of southwest Colorado’s high mountain valleys, received 2014 Durango Arts Center Scholarship and spent a week at Willowtail and ignites a passion for painting wildlife.

“The grounds that Peggy and Lee have cultivated make you feel like you’re a million miles away, perfectly suited to getting lost in inspiration and total beauty. Such a place is exactly what an artist needs to incite fresh creativity, a new perspective, and a natural inclination to push work further. All other things fall to the side in the present moment, birds flutter from tree to tree, chime out their melodies. I am reminded of what is truly important in life. During my week at Willowtail I was afforded the time to truly be “in the space” they have created. I was able to observe my own creative process, from the moment of inspiration to the completion of a piece. I allowed myself the “time” to sit and draw from life, which I do not often do. I saw the benefits immediately. I immersed myself in a new world, watched the way it influenced my brush. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, one that I will draw on for years”

Elizabeth agreed after her residency to serve as a board member for Willowtail. As part of her financial contribution as a board member, she donated half the proceeds of her show from works produced at Willowtail back to Willowtail. She has also served in many capacities as board member and volunteer at events and other meetings.

Elizabeth Kinahan Contact info

http://www.elizabethkinahan.com/

[email protected]

https://www.anddurango.com/

Annie Brooks
Visual Artist/Writer
2020 New Face Productions Scholarship

“I was given this residency during a time that I was feeling particularly sure that my work was unimportant, and that my personal projects were even more unimportant. The timing of my stay at Willowtail was uncannily perfect. 

This has been a very grown up year for many of us, but Willowtail has a personality that pairs perfectly with the childlikeness of making things. 

I felt heartily welcomed, not only by Peggy & Lee, but by the warm sunrises, the cattails, and the junipers. There’s a nurturing lightness, a joy and an ease here, and I felt that come through in my work. My hours spent in the studio felt both meaningful and fun. I was stalled out on this project for two years, and when I got here, the energy finally came. I painted three times as much as I expected to and still had the time to wander, to meditate, to read, to play the guitar, to cook, to stretch, to lay in a field at sunset, to stargaze, to take long baths and to drink questionable amounts of tea every day. Time fell away. Vanity fell away. All concern fell away and I was delighted to spend time with my kid self; playing in the woods, drawing pictures, and laughing at ducks. I didn’t have to be an artist. I could just be an Annie that likes to make art.  To be able to spend an entire week like that is something really special.  

Peggy and Lee gave me complete freedom. There was no pressure to do one thing or another, to impress, or to fit a description. Here, there’s only space and freedom. They have created something meaningful on this land that they so soulfully steward, and it was an honor to get to live and play in that for a week.

I’m walking away from this residency feeling like my art is worth making. That is priceless. “

I would suggest, with gusto, to any maker of any kind, to come experience a residency here. Whether you make paintings, potions, money, muffins, kids, choruses, books, bracelets, muscles, or mistakes…come! You’ll be so happy you did. 

Annie Brook Contact info

https://www.thewellsmakery.com/

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/thewellsmakery/