One of southern Utah’s top gathering of artists is the annual “Maynard Dixon Country” event at Mt. Carmel, Utah. Organizers Paul and Susan Bingham were kind enough to send Nellie and I complimentary tickets to the activities held this past week and we really enjoyed seeing old artist friends and meeting new ones.
The event is a fund-raiser for the Thunderbird Foundation which operates the Maynard Dixon property as a gallery, art education center, and facility for art workshops, artists gatherings, symposiums, and outreach programs for youth and special needs students. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit in existence for 10 years and has involved numerous top-level artists from all over the country.
Artists Dan Pinkham, Tim Lawson, and Charles Muench conducted a wonderful art symposium in the garden area on Friday afternoon. A standing-room only crowd of eager artists and collectors listened with rapt attention as the artists shared personal experiences and philosophies on “Finding their Painter’s Voice.”
After painting en plein air for several days, the artists’ work is displayed in the historic log studio, where eager collectors flooded the display area snapping up their favorite pieces. There were red dots a-plenty by the time the dust settled. Each artist also displayed studio pieces which were for sale in the Bingham gallery during the event.
Carol Johansen (right) and her daughter-in-law Jennifer Johansen are artists from Mt. Pleasant, Utah. We had become acquainted during the “Footsteps of Thomas Moran” plein air show in Zion National Park.
During Saturday evening’s outdoor gala adjacent to the Dixon Studio, attention turned to the Carmel cliffs at “magic hour” when the sun lights them up like neon. It was breathtaking, and provides clear evidence of why Maynard Dixon chose this spot for his home and studio.
