For 44 years, Farnsworth held an annual THE KACHINAS ARE COMING show. Across the decades, his love of painting Kachinas never faded.
I’d like to think of this as the first in a rekindling of that flame. After a long hiatus…
I hope you enjoy looking at this show as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together.
xo
Rosa
Once again,
For 44 years, Farnsworth held an annual THE KACHINAS ARE COMING show. Across the decades, his love of painting Kachinas never faded.
I’d like to think of this as the first in a rekindling of that flame. After a long hiatus…
The 45th Annual THE KACHINAS ARE COMING…Next Week!
Stay tuned for more information.
xo
Rosa
John Farnsworth believed you could say anything with three colors. He called it the (Un)Limited Palette. Rather than a limitation, the constraint was a philosophy. What you leave out matters as much as what you keep. He lived that way.
Born in Williams, Arizona in 1941, he grew up in the shadow of the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. At nine years old, visiting his mother’s birthplace of Taos, he walked into the galleries there and knew what he would become. Self-taught, he drew and painted while serving in the Army.
Farnsworth painted full time from 1967 onward. His early years were devoted to the Navajo and Pueblo people, a subject he pursued with personal intimacy. Becoming a trader on the Navajo Reservation, and Preparator at the Museum of Northern Arizona under Kachina authority Barton Wright. The Kachina paintings became the work he is best known for, alongside his monumental horse and cattle compositions.
His major commissions included Stage, a twenty-by-thirty-foot mural of a Wells Fargo stagecoach, now in the permanent collection of the City of Phoenix. He taught workshops across France, Mexico, Spain, Peru, and the American Southwest. From 2010 to 2014, he posted a painting a day on his blog, A Farnsworth A Day. He and his wife Thea made their home in a century-old adobe in Taos they called Ravenstrack in Ranchos de Taos.
He died peacefully, holding hands with my Mama T-Bird.
While my Pop has passed on from this life, my intention is to keep his legacy alive by offering stories, fine art reproductions and more. So please stay subscribed and we’ll stay in touch.
xo
Rosa
WHY KACHINAS?
“I was born in Williams, Arizona and grew up in Northern Arizona, in the shadow of the Navajo and Hopi Reservations.
Following High School, I studied independently, and painted in my spare time while working at jobs that included managing a small private museum and Indian shop, working as a trader on the Navajo Reservation, and as Preparator at the Museum of Northern Arizona, under Kachina expert and author Barton Wright.
In 1967, I began camping and traveling among the Navajo and Pueblos at every opportunity; sketching, painting, and attending ceremonials.
In 1968, I decided to devote myself to painting full-time. I continued painting Indian and Indian related subjects for the next ten years, with a year off to paint in Mexico in 1973…”
👉To see more and read the rest of this cool story, click here
(Farnsworth, far left. Wearing his classic concho belt, cowboy boots, and smoking a cigarette)
After the Kachina Dance at Moenkopi, I drove south to Cameron for dinner, photographing the golden light of evening on the sandstone cliffs south of Tuba City on the way. The hotel at Cameron was full, so I camped again in Fordacho. Back in the late 60s, my friend Dewain Maney took this photograph of Earl Carpenter and yours truly with Stella and Della Peshlakai. That’s Stella pretending to paint us.
To see more and read the rest of this cool story, click here
Guarding the Prize
The Harris’s Hawk is one cool customer—a tough, smart raptor that rules the deserts of the Southwest with its sleek dark feathers, those rich chestnut patches on the shoulders and thighs, and bright yellow legs that really pop. What sets it apart from most hawks is how social it is; these birds often team up in family groups to hunt, working together like a pack of wolves in the sky to flush out and take down prey. In this painting, “Harris Hawk, Guarding the Prize,” you can feel that intense focus and raw power as the hawk stands watch over its hard-won catch, a true master of the wild.
This gorgeous painting is now available as fine art notecards and a classic mug for your morning coffee or tea.
Blank inside, these make great thank you notes, thinking of you cards, and can even be framed and hung! And who wouldn’t want to start off the day with their coffee in this unique mug?
HARRIS HAWK, GUARDING THE PRIZE <- original daily painting post
“A RARITY (SO FAR)
Flowers are not a frequent subject on this blog. There is no good reason that I can think of. They are fun to paint. They’re popular. I photograph them a lot, and I’ve painted them much more frequently when working in watercolor. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll paint them more often in the year ahead.
Our dear friend, Kayce Verde, has written a poem in response to yesterday’s sunflower daily photograph:
SUMMER’S ENDING
OH, LET ME DIE LIKE A SUNFLOWER, HEAD HUNG DOWN FROM THE WEIGHT BUT STILL ATTACHED TO LIFE!
LET ME REMEMBER HOW ONCE I HELD MY HEAD HIGH FOR ALL TO ADMIRE
REMEMBERING HOW I ALWAYS TURNED AND FACED THE SUN
SO PROUD TO BE HIS NAMESAKE.
LIKE HUMANS I HAVE BEEN ASKED WHAT IS MY FIRST MEMORY?
SURELY IT IS NOT WHEN THE SEED WAS FIRST PLANTED
NOR THE FIRST DROP OF MOISTURE THAT SEEPED INTO THE BROWN EARTH.
NO, SILLY, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I POKED OUT TO THE LIGHT…THAT BLINDING
AMAZING YELLOW LIGHT WHICH I HAVE ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGED IN MY SHORT LIFE,
ALWAYS LOOKED UP TO!
YO SOY UN FLOR DEL SOL!
Primo, See what your photos evoke? Just couldn’t help myself or maybe it’s just the memory of Thea’s garden, quien sabe? Kayce
Thanks, Kayce Prima” John
Art should be lived with. A painting isn’t just something you look at—it’s something that becomes part of your world.
This piece, originally painted on August 30th, 2012, is now available as a fine art reproduction for a limited time.
Canvas. Metal. Tote bags. Notecards. However you choose to bring it home, make it yours before it’s gone.
👉 Click here to see the options & purchase.
“I awoke to these beautiful, towering clouds this morning. After yesterday’s and last nights rain, this was a pleasant surprise. Cumulus clouds and palm trees have always made a great combination in my eyes.” John
Art should be lived with. A painting isn’t just something you look at—it’s something that becomes part of your world.
This piece, originally painted on December 14th, 2012, is now available as a fine art reproduction for a limited time.
Canvas. Metal. Tote bags. Notecards. However you choose to bring it home, make it yours before it’s gone.
👉 Click here to see the options & purchase.
“The Kachina Show is up and opens tomorrow from 5-7. Thea has done a great job of curating the show, and will be there to help you take home your favorite(s). We took a break when we got home, and watched the French road film Western. Watching the two main characters walk, drive and hitchhike through small towns in France reminded me of this scene that’s been lurking in the back of my mind and in my research since I taught a workshop at Les Eyzies in the Périgord Region of the Dordogne three years ago.” John
Art should be lived with. A painting isn’t just something you look at—it’s something that becomes part of your world.
This piece, originally painted on September 1st, 2012, is now available as a fine art reproduction for a limited time.
Canvas. Metal. Tote bags. Notecards. However you choose to bring it home, make it yours before it’s gone.
👉 Click here to see the options & purchase.
“I picked up Betsy this morning, got her cleaned out and re-packed. Now what? I’m down to just three panels, so will head in to LA for more, but i’ll take my time and dawdle along a bit, seeing what there is to see, and showing some of it to you. Hang on, here we go!” John
Art should be lived with. A painting isn’t just something you look at—it’s something that becomes part of your world.
This piece, originally painted on December 6th, 2012, is now available as a fine art reproduction for a limited time.
Canvas. Metal. Tote bags. Notecards. However you choose to bring it home, make it yours before it’s gone.
👉 Click here to see the options & purchase.
