Dawn Cohen lives with her family at an altitude of almost 9,000 feet in the historic town of Crested Butte, Colorado, where she does large-scale plein air painting all year round, including when there are several feet of snow on the ground. The piece shown here, "The Best Ski Season, Ever" measures 36" by 44" and (like all her paintings) was painted entirely on-site.
"I pride myself on making large-scale paintings, where I return to the same painting spot day after day until it is complete. Working on-site with the constantly changing natural light requires focus and speed. It also takes commitment and discipline to brave the elements. I often paint in extremely cold Crested Butte weather and have to adorn myself with ski suits, gloves, hand and foot warmers and many layers of fleece. I do this because I love winter scenes. My eyes are drawn to a cluster of snow sliding off an old tin roof or to the way ice hangs onto a riverbank."
Dawn and her husband, Shaun Horne, who also does large-scale plein air paintings, have opened an art gallery in Crested Butte that features twelve plein air and landscape artists. Named for a nearby alpine valley, the gallery's name is Oh-Be-Joyful.
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