Cafe Abiquiu – Abiquiu, New Mexico

In her correspondence with her best friend, Georgia O’Keeffe lamented that she “always has a hard time finding words for anything.” When it came to relaying her awe at the sensory wonder surrounding her in Abiquiu, O’Keeffe was never at a loss for words.   With a prosaic ease, she described her isolated idyll as “the most beautiful place you can imagine.  It’s so beautiful there.  It’s ridiculous.”  Her passion for the surreal topography, juniper laden foothills and the sheer energy of the Southwest shimmered with growing vibrancy when she wrote of them.  When her heart finally surrendered to the soul-touching experience of spectacular sunsets giving way to a night air swathed in a canopy of stars, she wrote her friend:…

La Choza Restaurant – Santa Fe, New Mexico

“I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh Using bold and furious brushstrokes and striking colors (mostly red and green), Van Gogh once created a painting intended to depict humanity at its lowest point. Calling it “Night Cafe” he described it as “…one of the ugliest I have ever done, a collection of clashing colors in the dreariest atmosphere.” To New Mexicans, the notion of red and green being ugly, dreary and clashing in any way is a heretical concept. For denizens of the Land of Enchantment, red and green are absolutely stunning especially when plated together over blue corn enchiladas stuffed with carne adovada. Red and green…