Chroma Open Studios: Saturday, Sept. 17, noon-5pm

Reception area at Chroma Studios

This Saturday from noon to 5pm I will be opening my studio to the public. Not just my studio, but 3-4 other artists in my building will also be here to show their work! It’s been years since we opened Chroma Studios to the public and I am so excited to share all the color and energy with you all! We have 11 studios in all, though not everyone is able to be open this time around.

We have 2 studios that are currently being moved out of, so we also have 2 studios opening up for new artists at the beginning of October. If you are looking for an art studio, stop by and see what we have available! We are always happy to welcome new artists into the Chroma Studios fold. 🙂

Mixed Media by Dee Alexandria

I recently moved into a new studio that I’m sharing with another artist. Dee Alexandria has been a friend since we first met selling our art at the New Mexico State Fair almost 10 years ago! We decided to share a studio because neither of us needed a big studio to ourselves. Plus, it’s nice to have company in the studio. So often, artists are isolated from their peers. That is one of the things about Chroma Studios that makes it so nice! We have a community of artists here that help each other out. Mine and Dee’s work compliments each other perfectly as we both love color, flowers and spirals!

Landscape painting by Cynthia Zeedyk

Cynthia Zeedyck is another artist who will have her studio open this Saturday. She is a lifelong artist with 45 years of training and experience in the arts, including: Fine Arts, Appalachian Arts, Poetry, many styles of Dance, Wildcrafting Herbs, and Poetry. Cynthia was awarded with an Apprenticeship Grant from Ohio Arts for Traditional Heritage Basket Making. Her works sold both nationally and internationally. She was the largest female producer of Heritage Berry Baskets in the world. Her designs and creations include landscape paintings, floral and contemporary. Newest works in Scrimshaw. Cynthia has been a Chroma Artist since 2014.

Mixed Media by Robert Medina Cook

Robert Medina Cook has been a Chroma Studios artist off and on for at least 5 years. He began his journey in the creative arts over forty years ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A native New Mexican whose local family roots go back centuries in Northern New Mexico, in 2012 Robert was one of 7 artists honored for their excellence in the arts by being proclaimed a “Local Treasure” by the Albuquerque Art Business Association. Featured in several publications, his artworks have won numerous awards and can be found in corporate, museum, public art and private collections throughout the US and abroad.

Mixed Media by Phillip Vigil

Phillip Vigil (Jemez Pueblo/Chiricahua Apache) is a fourth-generation artist residing in Jemez Pueblo. He is new to Chroma Studios. He is a self-taught artist and has been working seriously on his art now for several years. He always had a love of art since he realized at a young age that the paintings on the walls were done by members of his family. He is highly influenced by the abstract modernists of the early and late 20th century. He works a lot on paper with oil pastels, oil sticks, oil paint sticks, spray paint, oil and acrylic paint as well.

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Artist of the Week: Cari Pier

Bio:

Da Vinci said, “Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.” I know this to be true and am made aware of it with each piece I create. I always have an idea that begins in my mind’s eye, but the paint always emerges and evolves on the canvas with ideas of its own. My art is a collaboration. It is a gift from the great mystery, the source of which I feel closest to when I paint.  I am consciously aware of IT and thankful for this awareness every day. I prefer to paint what I feel rather than what I see. A sacred place, poem, a dream, or song can touch me deeply and I try to express that emotion with my art. Some favorite descriptions of my work have been: spiritual, haunting, emotional, sensual and evocative. Each new piece is a page from my life and I want to use the time that I have been given to grow spiritually and to dream, believe and create.

Going deeper and getting closer. Consciously aware of things felt, but not seen.

July First Friday: New Mexico Photographers

The July photography show is up and features several well known New Mexico photographers. Tim Anderson, Pat Berrett, Jean Casson O’Neill, Fernando Delgado, Karl Eschenbach,  Joan Fenicle, Raine Klover, Robert Leutheuser, Barry McCormick, Kirk McGee, Pete Myers, Tom Outler, Julie Rybachek, Susan See, Justin Simenson, and Bill Skees all have photography in the show which runs through the month of July. Come by on Friday evening, 6-10 pm, meet the artists, enjoy some refreshments and perhaps find some great photography you won’t be able to live without!

Spotlighted this week is Justin Simenson, an award-winning New Mexico photographer. Simenson has been represented by Chroma Gallery since its opening, and this month his Light Streak series will be on display.

 

“I have always been drawn to photos. The idea that you can capture a moment in time that will never happen again has inspired me to become a photographer.” — Justin Simenson

 

Justin Simenson's Light Streaks

Top 10 Reasons to Invest in Art (Bad Economy or Not!)

As a professional artist and gallery owner, I am getting sick and tired of hearing people say that art is a great investment, during GOOD times. Why only during good times? Good times or bad, art is a GREAT investment. I once read a quote that said “During good economic times, people collect art, but during bad economic times, people invest in art”. I wish I could remember where and when I read this so I could credit the person who said it. The point is, art is not just a luxury item, it IS an investment. Record auction sales in past years, paintings selling for millions of dollars is evidence of this. Now, some will say, paintings by dead artists, sure! However, can you imagine being the person who bought that $100-5,000 painting from a living artist (think Vincent Van Gogh, who only sold ONE painting during his lifetime!) to someday turn around and sell it at auction for millions of dollars? Sure, it took decades for that appreciation to occur, but what better inheritance to leave your children?! I’m not good with math, but you don’t need to be a financial wizard to figure out that it’s an awesome return on investment. Remember too, every artist will eventually die! (Actually, I think Salvador Dali thought he was immortal and he would live forever!)

In my research for this post, I read The Economic Importance of the Arts & Cultural Industries in Albuquerque… report presented by the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research. According to this report, “Arts and cultural industries generate $1.2 billion in revenues, $413 million in wages, and 19,500 jobs, totaling
6% of all employment in the County”(Bernalillo county, NM). This report goes on to say,
“Arts and culture, once considered luxuries that follow prosperity,
are now understood to be conditions of prosperity.
Yes, art and culture are big business and among the fastest
growing sectors of the economy, but their economic importance
extends far beyond the value of their receipts. Today, a vibrant
art and cultural sector is crucial to attracting and retaining a
talented labor force and creating an environment conducive to
innovation. In this sense, the rich and distinctive cultures of
cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, and Boulder are
not so much evidence of these cities’ economic prosperity as
they are factors that give rise to it.”
What I get from this is, art is a good investment because art is what MAKES a city good.

So, here are my top 10 reasons why it is ALWAYS a good time to invest in art;

10. Artists need to eat too! (Let’s just get over the starving artist myth! No artist goes into the arts wanting to starve! Art is a BUSINESS, I spend only 40%, maybe less, of my time actually painting)

9. Art can brighten your life, who doesn’t need their life brightened during times like this?

8. Artists have to pay their bills too! (I would be interested to know how many artists have defaulted on their home loans or had their car repossessed since the recession began.)

7. Emerging artist’s work will hold value or go UP in value, good idea to buy art from an artist BEFORE their prices go up.

6. Buying art from local artists puts money back into your local economy. (Artists spend money too. See #10 and #8)

5. Art makes your house a home. Even if it doesn’t match your couch!

4. ANY art you buy today is automatically a piece of history. (Of course, I suggest you wait a few years before you take it to the Antiques Roadshow.)

3. Art can inspire greatness! 

2. Supporting artists by purchasing their work keeps service jobs open for teenagers and retirees!

And the #1 reason to invest in art (drum roll please!), ARTISTS NEED TO EAT TOO! Yes, I said it twice! (Let’s just get over the starving artist myth already, serious artists work more than overtime on their careers and SHOULD be taken seriously. Being an artist IS a business! As with everything, it’s just a few artists that give the rest of us a bad name.)

Disclaimer: While this post was meant as a serious look at why you should invest in art (bad economy or not), parts of it were also done tongue in cheek and should not be taken too seriously! Now go buy some original art from a LIVING artist! 🙂