2018 Ken Daggett Exhibition Catalog

Meyer Gallery

Ken Daggett Essence of a Landscape

Ken Daggett

Essence of a Landscape May 11-31, 2018

On the Cover: Going South of John Dunn

oil 24x20

Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 505.983.1434 www.meyergalleries.com

Focused, passionate, prolific and determined - words that convey the spirit of Ken Daggett's life as an artist. After years of embellishing architectural renderings that limited his artistic ability, he is now free to paint without bounds. The years spent in this structured environment have given Ken a special appreciation for personal expression in his art. Some of his favorite subjects are the pastoral scenes of Northern New Mexico, quaint village churches and hand built adobes tenderly perched on the mesas and in the valleys.

Ken is now a full-fledged Taoseno thriving on waking up each day to the beauty of New Mexico. His mornings and evenings are spent painting watercolor plein air. In the afternoon he continues his art in the studio. His paintings glow with the color and drama of sun-flooded scenes and shady mountain meadows. One feels the heart of the artist as well as the spirit of place in his works.

Throughout his childhood and adolescence Ken explored his world through art. He received art awards through high school and continued his studies at Orange Coast College. He devoured the majority of the art curriculum and continued to be awarded for this talent.

Today he is at home with acrylic and oil; however, his real passion is transparent watercolor. "I love the unpredictable nature of watercolor and the challenge it presents," states Ken. His adoration of the Southwest, the lush green fields of the lowlands, the softly rounded adobe structures and the mountain landscapes pour forth from his brush.

"For me, painting is a never-ending challenge and I will spend my life gratefully pursuing that challenge. I learn and grow with each new painting."

Ken's watercolor "Autumn Entrance" was honored with the People's Choice Award at the 2004 Taos Open Art Competition and he was commissioned to be the Poster Artist for the 2006 Competition.

“You can see so much more when you’re on site,” says plein air painter Ken Daggett. “I like the fact that the landscape changes – the sun is moving, the clouds are rolling over - it just throws in a lot of life into the painting when you’re actually there.”

Above the Marsh oil 24x20 on the previous page: Monument at Ghost Ranch

oil 30x40

Lazy Rio Grande

oil 16x20

Taos Fields

oil 16x20

Daggett leaves his Taos studio every day, rain, snow or shine, to embark on outdoor painting excursions throughout northern New Mexico. He seeks out dramatic landscapes in Taos, Abiquiu and other locations that are typically within a 50-mile radius of his studio. Even when Daggett isn’t painting, he’s constantly scanning his surroundings for his next subject. “I see it, stew on it and then go back,” he says. “ As artists, we hunt more than we paint. I see something the day before and then I know where I’m going.

I play through a painting before I even get there and plan it out to some degree.”

Across the Sage

oil 16x12

Pedernal and Lake Abiquiu

oil 30x40

Plaza Blanca

oil 30x40

Lake Abiquiu oil 40x30 on the previous page: Flowing Through the Gorge

oil 20x24

Rio Pueblo

oil 8x10

Even with this pretense, Daggett ultimately seeks to capture the emotional effect of a place rather than recreating exact details. The unpredictability of plein air painting keeps his process spontaneous, while working with a palette knife brings loose freedom into his work. Daggett blurs certain aspects of a landscape while exaggerating others, allowing the viewer to feel the grandness of Abiquiu’s Pedernal or the serenity of a fall day by the Rio Grande Gorge.

El Salto Morning oil 18x14 on the previous page: In the Gorge oil

16x20

Willows in Marsh

oil 20x16

Passing Through the Canyon oil 20x16 on the previous page: Small Talpa Field oil 9x12

Ken Daggett Essence of a Landscape Above the Marsh Across the Sage El Salto Morning Flowing Through the Gorge Going South of John Dunn In the Gorge Lake Abiquiu Lazy Rio Grande Monument at Ghost Ranch Passing Through the Canyon Pedernal and Lake Abiquiu Plaza Blanca Rio Pueblo River Bend Small Talpa Field Taos Fields Willows in Marsh

24x20 16x12 18x14 20x24 24x20 16x20 40x30 16x20 30x40 20x16 30x40 30x40 8x10 16x20 9x12 16x20 20x16

$2200 $1100 $1400 $2200 $2200 $1500 $4100 $1500 $4100 $1500 $4100 $4100 $700 $1500 $800 $1500 $1500

Ken Daggett

Essence of a Landscape River Bend

May 11-31, 2018

oil 16x20

Opening Reception Friday, May 11, 5-7 PM

225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 505.983.1434 www.meyergalleries.com