Leon Loughridge
We enjoyed a visit to Dry Creek Art Press for the opening exhibit of watercolors and woodblock prints associated with Leon Loughridge's newest book: The Cimarron Cutoff. This is a signed and numbered edition of 60, the third hand-printed book in his Woodblocks of the Santa Fe Trail series. The Cimarron Cutoff was a "short cut" which was actually more hazardous than the main trail because of Comanche Indians and lack of water.
Leon Loughridge was raised on a ranch in northern New Mexico where he became involved in the New Mexico art circles. He moved to Colorado as a teen and later studied at the Colorado Institute of Art. While in the army he was stationed in Germany where his interest in printmaking began. Returning to Colorado he purchased his first press and has continued to develop his skills as a printmaker.
He uses plein air sketches in pastel or watercolor as sources for his woodblock prints. He tries to keep the intuitive spontenaity and expressive distortion that painting outdoors lends to his work.
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