Janice Muir wants to take you to a peaceful place

Growing up in Albuquerque, Janice Muir spent a lot of time watching the clouds with her father. "My dad was a great skywatcher. He loved weather. Loved the outdoors."

So naturally, she loves to paint outside, on location. She is drawn to places of peace, of meditation, or places that just make you smile.

She recently painted at the Grand Canyon, which is a challenge for any artist. She said, "There's something awe inspiring about the Grand Canyon. But how do I transfer the feeling I had while I was there?"

When she teaches Plein Air painting, the first thing that she tells her students to do, and the thing that is hardest for beginners, is to edit. Ask yourself, "What's the most important thing about this place? What makes you happy about this place?"

Things change fast when you're painting on location. Especially the quality of the light. She said, "When you see the light, paint it and leave it."

Janice often uses a journal to take notes on the place. Once the image is down she takes notes on colors and sounds. Anything to help her remember where she was. She takes her time setting up so that she can center. She said, "Take the time to set up your easel. To put out your paints. Listen. Smell. Is it sage? Is it wet earth? What's that sound? Is it slow moving water?"

Once when she painted at Anniversary Trail (one of her favorite places) she heard coyotes across the canyon. Although she didn't paint the coyotes, listening to them while painting added another dimension to her art.

"I have a lot of spiritualism in my painting," she said. "My spiritualism is connected to nature."

The skies look alive and changing in her paintings. She said, "I watch sunsets, being very observant about how light changes. Skies are extremely important to me. It goes back to my childhood. For a long time I didn't want to paint a cloud until I could do it well."

The greatest feedback Janice can ever receive is when someone views one of her paintings and says, "That's a place I'd like to be," or even, "I feel like I've been there." When that happens she feels like she has made the connection.