La Bajada

By: Joel Becktell

La Bajada

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Reading

By: Joel Becktell

Reading

When I was little I loved to read, and my favorite spot was a rocking chair near a south-facing window. I remember how completely I could get engrossed in a story. Many times a day, I would return to awareness of my surroundings after having traveled afar in a book, to find myself surprised to be back at home in the rocking chair.

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Summer Landscape

By: Joel Becktell

Summer Landscape

This painting was inspired by the summer of 2020, which was hot and arid.

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Edge of the Forest

By: Joel Becktell

Edge of the Forest

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Monsoon Afternoon

By: Joel Becktell

Monsoon Afternoon

To the extent that there is a rainy season in New Mexico, it is in the late summer. Sadly, it’s not as reliable as it used to be, but during the monsoon, a bright, scorching day can be transformed by a thunderstorm, then back again. Most days, it’s possible to look into the distance and see an active cloudburst when it’s sunny and dry where you are. These storms blow across the landscape, and where they are going to drop their rain is anyone’s guess.

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Thomaskirche, Leipzig

By: Joel Becktell

Thomaskirche, Leipzig

The building in this painting does look a little bit like the famous Thomaskirche in Leipzig, but the main inspiration for the painting is the fact that this is where J.S. Bach worked for much of his career, and where he composed some of his most famous liturgical works. Late one night, I felt drawn to paint the church in a way that might resonate with its famous musical history. I’ve always liked the fanciful idea that when I’m inside a church looking out of the stained glass windows, what I’m actually seeing is a colored and fragmented world outside. So I re-positioned my imaginary self outside the church, but with those conditions still in place. Since to me birds symbolize, among other things, flowing music, I included some stained glass-colored birds in the air and roosting on the roof and gables.

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