AND WHAT MAY STILL BE MISSING FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PHYSICS. ALONG ROUTE 66, EVERY MILE HAS A STORY. AND NOW A GROUP OF NEW MEXICO ARTISTS IS TELLING THOSE STORIES THROUGH PAINT. DARLENE MELENDEZ HAS A LOOK AT THE ARTWORK KEEPING THE MOTHER ALIVE. PAINTBRUSHES. PASTELS AND EASELS DECORATE CENTRAL AVENUE. I’M DOING WHAT’S CALLED BIG SHAPES, SO I’M TRYING TO LAY IN THE COMPOSITION. STEPHANIE WEST HAS BEEN PART OF THE PLAN. AIR PAINTERS OF NEW MEXICO FOR SIX YEARS NOW SHOWCASES HER TALENTS IN THIS SPECIAL ROUTE 66 PAINT OUT JUST ON AN OUTLINE OF THE PICTURE THEY’RE WORKING ON. WORKING ON THIS BUILDING ACROSS THE STREET. MEMBERS JUST LIKE HER PAINTING ACROSS NEW MEXICO. EVERY WEEK WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO GO OUT ONCE A WEEK IN LAS CRUCES AND SANTA FE AND ALBUQUERQUE AND TAOS, AND WE LIKE TO GET OUT, HAVE CAMARADERIE WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND EXPERIENCE WHAT THE SHARED LOVE OF THIS, THIS OUTDOOR PAINTING IS ALL ABOUT. WITH ALMOST 400 MEMBERS, SOME PLEIN AIR PAINTERS ARE PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS. OTHERS ARE EXPLORING THEIR CREATIVITY. I JOINED THIS GROUP IN ORDER TO GET BETTER AT PAINTING, BUT ALL ARE CELEBRATING NEW MEXICO’S SCENIC BEAUTY PAINT, PAINTINGS OF ARCHITECTURE, CARS, NEON AND TRADITIONAL LANDSCAPES. THIS YEAR’S EXTRA SPECIAL PAINTING, ROUTE 66 HISTORY THROUGH THEIR MOTHER ROAD. OPEN AIR OPEN ROAD PROJECT. IT’S A STATEWIDE SERIES TO CELEBRATE THE HIGHWAY’S CENTENNIAL YEAR. WE START PAINTING IN MAY. WE’LL PAINT ALL THE WAY THROUGH AUGUST, AND WE’LL PAINT IN LOCATIONS ALL OVER THE STATE. A BUNCH OF US CAME DOWN AND WE WERE ABLE TO, LIKE, GET UNDER A PORTAL AND DO THE CHEMO. STEPHANIE LOVES ROUTE 66 SO MUCH. SHE’S LEADING THIS PROJECT. I’VE ALWAYS DRIVEN THROUGH TUCUMCARI AND GOING, OH MY GOSH, ALL THOSE VINTAGE HOTELS. SO ROUTE 66, I WAS LIKE, OH, WE GOT TO GET OUT THERE. AND FOR THIS GROUP OF ARTISTS PAINTING DOWN ROUTE 66 GOES BEYOND EXERCISING THEIR SKILLS. IT’S A WAY TO CAPTURE THE ROAD’S HISTORY BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. A LOT OF THE BUILDINGS AND ARCHITECTURE ARE STARTING TO DIMINISH. AND BY HAVING THESE KIND OF EVENTS, IT GETS PEOPLE MORE INVOLVED, FOSTERING CONNECTIONS ALONG THE ENTIRE HIGHWAY. WE’RE ABLE TO BUILD ON THE LEGACY THAT IS 100 YEARS OF ROUTE 66, AND THAT BUILDS A COMMUNITY. IT GETS OTHER COMMUNITIES INTERESTED IN PUTTING MONEY BACK, IN BRINGING MORE PEOPLE OUT, BECAUSE THERE’S MORE TO SEE THAN JUST HERE IN ALBUQUERQUE. IT’S ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. AND PRESERVING THE SPIRIT OF THE MOTHER ROAD ONE BRUSHSTROKE AT A TIME. DARLENE MELENDEZ. KOAT. ACTION SEVEN NEWS. THE PIECES CREAT
Artists honor Route 66 centennial with statewide painting project
Updated: 2:07 PM MDT May 15, 2026
Paint brushes, pastels, and easels decorated Central Avenue as members of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico showcased their talents in a “Route 66 Paint Out” event. “I’m doing what’s called big shapes. So I’m trying to lay in the composition,” Stephanie West said. West has been part of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico for six years and is leading the “Mother Road Open Air Open Road” project, a statewide series celebrating Route 66’s centennial year. “I’ve always driven through Tucumcari and going, oh my gosh, all those vintage hotels so Route 66. I was like, oh, we gotta get out there,” West said. The group, which has nearly 400 members, includes both professional artists and those exploring their creativity. “I joined this group in order to get better at painting,” Jack McGowan said. Members paint across New Mexico every week, with gatherings in Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos. “We have people who go out once a week in Las Cruces and Santa Fe and Albuquerque and Taos,” Kirk Winn, president of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, said. “We like to get out, have camaraderie with one another, and experience what the shared love of this, this outdoor painting is all about,” Winn said. This year’s project focuses on painting Route 66 history, capturing its architecture, cars, neon signs, and traditional landscapes. “Paint paintings of architecture, cars, neon and traditional landscapes,” Winn said. “We start painting in May, we’ll paint all the way through August, and we’ll paint in locations all over the state,” Winn said. West added, “A bunch of us came down and we were able to get under a portal and do the Kimo.” For the artists, painting Route 66 is about more than showcasing their talents. “A lot of the buildings and architecture are starting to diminish. And by having these kinds of events, it gets people more involved,” Winn said. The initiative also fosters connections along the highway. “We’re able to build on the legacy that is 100 years of Route 66, and that builds a community that gets other communities interested in putting money back, in bringing more people out, because there’s more to see than just here in Albuquerque. It’s all across the United States,” Winn said. Through their work, the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico are preserving the spirit of the Mother Road, one brush stroke at a time.
Paint brushes, pastels, and easels decorated Central Avenue as members of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico showcased their talents in a “Route 66 Paint Out” event.
“I’m doing what’s called big shapes. So I’m trying to lay in the composition,” Stephanie West said.
West has been part of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico for six years and is leading the “Mother Road Open Air Open Road” project, a statewide series celebrating Route 66’s centennial year.
“I’ve always driven through Tucumcari and going, oh my gosh, all those vintage hotels so Route 66. I was like, oh, we gotta get out there,” West said.
The group, which has nearly 400 members, includes both professional artists and those exploring their creativity.
“I joined this group in order to get better at painting,” Jack McGowan said.
Members paint across New Mexico every week, with gatherings in Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos.
“We have people who go out once a week in Las Cruces and Santa Fe and Albuquerque and Taos,” Kirk Winn, president of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, said.
“We like to get out, have camaraderie with one another, and experience what the shared love of this, this outdoor painting is all about,” Winn said.
This year’s project focuses on painting Route 66 history, capturing its architecture, cars, neon signs, and traditional landscapes.
“Paint paintings of architecture, cars, neon and traditional landscapes,” Winn said.
“We start painting in May, we’ll paint all the way through August, and we’ll paint in locations all over the state,” Winn said.
West added, “A bunch of us came down and we were able to get under a portal and do the Kimo.”
For the artists, painting Route 66 is about more than showcasing their talents.
“A lot of the buildings and architecture are starting to diminish. And by having these kinds of events, it gets people more involved,” Winn said.
The initiative also fosters connections along the highway.
“We’re able to build on the legacy that is 100 years of Route 66, and that builds a community that gets other communities interested in putting money back, in bringing more people out, because there’s more to see than just here in Albuquerque. It’s all across the United States,” Winn said.
Through their work, the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico are preserving the spirit of the Mother Road, one brush stroke at a time.