Pigments of Place: New Mexico
An exploration of land, material and memory at Bishop's Lodge, Santa Fe.
There is something about New Mexico that stays with you. The vastness of the sky, the shifting colours of the desert, the ancient geology exposed in every hillside. It is a landscape that seems to hold its history close to the surface.
When I moved to Santa Fe, I began exploring the surrounding landscape, gathering sandstone, shale, charcoal and mica from the earth. Each material carries its own colour, texture and story, shaped by millions of years of geological change.
These materials became the foundation of Pigments of Place: New Mexico, a collection of original paintings exhibited at Bishop's Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection, in Santa Fe.
Painting With the Land
My practice begins outside the studio.
I collect rocks, minerals and earth from the landscapes I encounter, carefully transforming them into pigments by hand. These pigments become the paint itself, allowing the physical landscape to become part of the artwork.
In New Mexico, I was drawn to the warmth of the sandstone, the delicate shimmer of mica and the deep, earthy tones of charcoal and shale.
Rather than depicting the landscape literally, I wanted to capture something of its atmosphere — the softness of distant mountains, the subtle shifts in light, and the quiet space between earth and sky.
Earth, Water & Atmosphere
Presented within the historic Lamy Chapel at Bishop's Lodge, the exhibition explored three interconnected elements: Earth, Water and Atmosphere.
Each body of work reflected a different quality of the New Mexico landscape, from the weight and texture of the earth to the movement of water and the fleeting colours of the horizon.
Working with these natural materials is a way of slowing down and paying attention. Every pigment behaves differently. Some settle into the canvas with a soft, dusty finish, while others catch the light or leave behind unexpected textures.
I allow these characteristics to become part of the painting, embracing the imperfections and unpredictability of the materials.
A Sense of Place
For me, Pigments of Place is about more than recording a landscape. It is about creating something that physically belongs to it.
Each painting contains a small part of the place from which it was inspired, carrying its colours, minerals and geological history into a new form.
The exhibition opened on October 4, 2026, at Bishop's Lodge in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Pigments of Place continues to evolve as I travel, gather and paint with the earth, creating a growing collection of works rooted in the landscapes that shape them.
Jessyjo Darling
Santa Fe, New Mexico
October 2026
