Art Program
The Gallery Collection at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa
La Posada was a private estate from 1882 until the 1930's when the the owners added casitas where artists could stay as their guests. In the 1940's, La Posada became a hotel and was one of the first places in the West to show art, long before the gallery network. To this day, La Posada is known as "The Art Hotel" and offers the services of an on-site curator who selects and displays paintings and sculpture by established American artists. All artwork is available for sale at the artist's studio prices. Collectors who purchase art from The Gallery Collection are invited back to the hotel each time they return with half-priced rooms and with our thanks for supporting the artists listed below. Contact our curator, Sara Eyestone, for further information at 505-954-9668.
Artists:
THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF HERSELF, SARA EYESTONE
I am the Art Curator here at La Posada and also one of the Artists, although I never show more than two of my paintings at a time since we have so much talent and not enough walls. I was born artistic, and I have painted all my life. I work hard, and I am both right and left brained which has been a great advantage to me, because I am as interested and creative in business and marketing as I am in my studio life.
Since the 1960's I have had fifty one woman shows in galleries, libraries, museums, and venues where my work was seen by the multitudes; the business of getting my art global with publishers who created a market for my portraits, patterned florals and big blossom oil paintings has been the other direction I embraced. I teach artists to do the same.
When I was a child, my Grandmother kept me in art supplies. She stayed here at La Posada when she came to visit from the East, because our family lived in Los Alamos in the 1940's and '50's when it was the Atomic City. Visitors were forbidden. The best and the brightest scientific minds were there, including my parents, who were a marvelous couple but challenged by me.
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They were horrified when I asked to be an art major and made it clear that "serious" college courses were essential to get into graduate school where I would find a husband. However, once I was married they promised that I could spend the rest of my life painting. That was all the encouragement I needed to elope! At nineteen I started supporting us with my paintbrush. That is the beginning of my professional story.
Back to TopLet me invite you to La Posada, and over a drink you can tell me yours, I'll tell you more of mine, and you will be in the lap of luxury at the Art Hotel. Come. Be our Guest, and until then, Cheers!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF J. A. BAKER
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The subject matter in Judith A. Baker's oil paintings is simple in character. Her compositions evoke a certain classical mood, and as one observer stated, "a feeling of quietude". The Artist's use of lighting and her classical palette reflects her appreciation for the traditional Dutch painters like Vermeer, de Heem, Van der Ast, and Hals. It is no coincidence that her own family tree has deep roots planted in the Netherlands. Judith A. Baker collects treasures that become the focal points in her paintings. In ORANGE PEELED, the footed bowl filled with oranges became a work in progress until she peeled a bit of the top orange. That added mystique and inspired the Artist to mix the palette. We are honored to represent Judith A. Baker's original oil paintings in The Gallery Collection at La Posada. They are exquisite! All of her paintings are available for sale at the Artist's studio prices like all of the other original art throughout the hotel. If you Google this Artist, please be aware that she paints under the name J. A. Baker.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
J. A. BAKER REMEMBERS: "Even as a young girl I thought of myself as an Artist. I was always drawing, painting, or constructing something. My parents recognized my talent and supported my interests. After high school I completed a three-year course in graphic design and illustration at Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. I added "fine art" courses to my curriculum. When I started painting it was exclusively in watercolors, but then I switched to oils. I haven't painted with watercolors since."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF KIM BARRICK
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Elegance is the word that comes to mind when describing the paintings of Kim Barrick. Her soft palette and her fluid brush strokes combined with her choice of irresistible subjects explain why her work is compelling and so popular with collectors. All of her originals have an organic quality defined by the always present light and her 'signature' lavender-gray shadows that capture the mood of the moment. Her oil paintings of bird nests are treasures. They evoke a sense of place and inspiration for the Artist. She is a Tennessean who originates from Colorado. She returned to the west to spend time in the mountains creating sketching ideas for her breathtaking SNOW AND SHADOW series that adorn La Posada's walls every winter. Kim Barrick is devoted to her work and has spent decades working hard at developing her natural talents. Her style is unmistakable and imitated by numbers of Artists who hold her in high esteem.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
KIM BARRICK REMEMBERS: "As a child I declared that I wanted to be an Artist when I grew up. Having been adopted at birth by an engineer and an accountant who had no ability to imagine such an impractical career for me, I credit my perseverance and the fact that the Artist in me kept fighting to be heard. Here I am!"
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF ROBERT BENJAMIN
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Robert Benjamin paints New Mexico. He is a gifted Artist and deserving of all the accolades and opportunities that come his way. Guests and visitors at La Posada are fascinated with his realistic paintings that look like photographs done with a soft, sable paint brush. His palette is limited to serene shades that he paints with care to achieve his recognizable style that he is well known for. When I first saw his paintings, the frames were distracting so I suggested he remove them and continue the paintings around the edges of his gallery wrapped canvases. I think he was horrified as his response was, "Sara, do you have any idea how long it will take me to do that? For starters, I would have to mix every color all over again!" My response was that you do what needs doing to make perfection, and I suggested he try just one canvas for a comparison. A few days later he called to say that his work looked sensational painted around the edges, and that he would do all his paintings that way. I believe that some paintings look finished with the proper frame, and others do not. Details matter. If you love the paintings of Robert Benjamin, I suggest you collect his work as his star continues to rise. And like the other Artists in the Gallery Collection at the hotel, Mr. Benjamin's paintings are for sale at his studio prices. If you are interested in visiting his Albuquerque studio, I will gladly make arrangements for you. It is my pleasure to be of service.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
ROBERT BENJAMIN REMEMBERS: "I have been asked many times why I become an Artist. I never thought about it much. It was just who I was and what I did. The activities of painting and sculpting were always on my mind. Thinking creatively was more of a compulsion than a conscious mental activity. It was just how I thought. My earliest artistic recollection was when I was a preschooler, laying on the floor drawing. My world was only in focus about six inches away from my face. I wasn't aware that I couldn't see much at all when l was a child, and no one knew that I was extremely nearsighted until I was about eight years old. My parents assumed my disinterest in joining my brothers and sisters for sports was because of my artistic talent and my passion to draw. Fortunately I was truly content. Once my father came home from work in the middle of the day and told my mother that he had lost his job, and he began to cry. I never saw my father cry before. I wasn't completely sure what a job was, but I knew that everyone needed one and that my dad didn't like losing his. I also remember thinking that I never wanted to lose one myself. Looking back, that was a profound realization. The situation inspired me to think about what I liked to do most so I could do that for my job someday. The answer was art. I liked to draw more than anything, because that was where my world started and ended. I also loved the response from my mother every time I showed her one of my creations. Praise for doing something I love? Yes. At that very young age I discovered my future."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF SIGNE BERGMAN
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Signe Bergman is one of the most inspired oil painters I know. A visit to her studio while she paints is an incredible experience! She works from watercolor sketches that she creates during her frequent travels. These drawings serve as notes, if you will, and are done on small, blank spiral tablets with a sable brush and a small tin of watercolors. When she returns to her Santa Fe studio, Signe Bergman is full of ideas and ready to paint! I have seen her sort the painted pages she tears from her tablets saying, "These work together as a painting and so does this group over here." She begins her process unlike anyone I know. A brush full of turpentine, large enough to paint a wall with, is dipped into all the colors on her palette at once, and then across the top of her blank stretched canvas. These thinned oil colors mix and run together as they stream down the canvas, making loose, fanciful patterns in an under-painting that only the Artist deciphers. The actual composition begins when she picks up a smaller brush, refers to her watercolor sketches, and paints into the wet drips of color. Signe Bergman's paintings 'read' like a memoire and she paints a world all her own. We encourage our Guests who love her work to visit her studio in person. It is near the hotel and the highpoint of the vacation, for those who make time. When I arrange studio visits with our Guests, I know without a doubt they will come away with an unforgettable experience. I did.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
SIGNE BERGMAN REMEMBERS: "In school I was always the class Artist. Unfortunately, my parents and teachers discouraged me from considering art as a career, so in college I majored in what my family considered 'serious studies' and took art courses as electives. But I am an Artist, regardless of my major! It is my identity, my pleasure, my measure of accomplishment and sense of fulfillment. Being a professional, working Artist is my life's reward."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF JAMES COBB
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James P. Cobb was a physician who specialized in the neck and head surgery before he became an art professor at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Today, when he is not working in his studios in Oklahoma or New Mexico, he teaches privately and hosts a weekly 'open studio' for figure and portrait Artists, taking advantage of a wealth of hired models from the University. "I feel that nothing holds your focus and concentration better than having a live model in front of you. There is the sense of immediacy, mixed with accuracy, regarding what captures your interest in a face or gesture." The artist has his own very recognizable style and draws and paints from life whether it is figurative, portraiture, or still life. When spending time at his Taos studio, he is compelled to take his easel outdoors for some plein air beauty and landscape work. James Cobb is a great American painter with legions of talented mentors and grateful collectors. His work adds another dimension to the world-class art in La Posada's Gallery Collection.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
JAMES COBB REMEMBERS: "I was keenly aware of my artistic interests, built up over a long period of time, until I could no longer NOT paint. I began drawing in the early "80's"with a community based arts and crafts venue. I was trying to get my son interested in something – anything we might do together. I was a surgeon, and looking back, I feel fortunate to have met friends and instructors at the right time. The profession of being a full time Artist is a choice: do you pursue painting completely or simply enjoy it as a part time activity In the late 80's I just couldn't leave it alone and haven't since. At present, aside from my family and friends, painting and drawing is what I'm all about."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF DOUG COFFIN
Doug Coffin's Grandmothers are Native Americans. The symbols and mythology of his heritage are strongly reflected in his art. The Sun and Moon represent Male and Female energy in the cosmos. Snakes are the carriers of knowledge from the underworld. The Redlines in his oil paintings and sculpture signify the Heart-line. In a recent interview at the Artist's Northern New Mexico studio, Doug Coffin said, "Most of the symbols in my work relate to 'Power Objects' of Native Americans as well as tribal art throughout the world." His stylized paintings and sculpture, featured here at La Posada, are typical of his work shown in Embassies and private collections all over the world. Doug Coffin's sculptures, with the exception of OWL in the hotel lobby, are in our gardens. They are colorful, strong and memorable with titles like SNAKE DANCE TOTEM WITH MOON AND STARS. All of his work is for sale at his studio prices, like the other Artists featured in La Posada's Gallery Collection.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
DOUG COFFIN REMEMBERS: "I am the eldest of three boys, and all of us are successful professional Artists. We grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and although our parents were not Artists, they were supportive of us. I remember copying pictures of animals and fish out of Outdoor Life when I was a very young boy. At seventeen I began university art classes. The rest is history…"
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF ADDIE DRAPER
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Addie Draper is an inspired Artist who paints because she loves what she does, with little regard to the growing following of Collectors who acquire every subject she creates. I first saw her work in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she was exhibiting in a large group show. There were so many lovely things to see from other Artists, but they paled in contrast to Addie Draper's impressionistic paintings of trees and pathways in autumn light. She followed that series with the SPRING AND SUMMER COLLECTION that I am currently showing at the hotel. These new originals are breathtaking with endless plains of sumptuous color. They are reminiscent of originals by Gauguin, except Addie Draper's are more theatrical, with a much larger scale, and they are very affordable. Her paintings are dazzling!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
ADDIE DRAPER REMEMBERS: "1 have always painted. I began as soon as I could use my hands, and as long as I remember, I have loved colors and textures, shapes and forms. Art was all I ever wanted to do. As an Artist I am challenged to be aware of my environment, to be mindful of people, and to see things from a creative point of view by turning off the 'logical' side of my brain and listening to a more subtle voice."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF ELIZABETH ELEQUIN
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Elizabeth Elequin is one of our youngest painters, but a study of her work shows that she is gifted and skilled well beyond her years. As Curator, it is exciting for me to see talent of her magnitude in the early decades of her career. She paints in acrylics and mixes palettes of bright, festive colors that make her paintings the center of attention wherever they are seen. Her newest series is a spectacular collection of very modern, square, larger-than-life blossoms of old-fashioned favorite flowers like hollyhocks and roses and poppies. They add a kiss to La Posada's Gallery Collection which has world-class art by accomplished, living, American Artists in varied styles and subjects. Elizabeth Elequin is one of the young Artists that I encourage my own children to collect, as it is such fun getting in on the ground floor of someone on the rise.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
ELIZABETH ELEQUIN REMEMBERS: "I started painting as a very young child, but my endeavors with serious art did not take place until my freshman year of college. I originally enrolled as a commercial art major, but when I embarked on my first formal painting class, I quickly realized my passion lived in the studio. Being an artist literally gives me LIFE. It means not just living from day to day and existing comfortably. It means living to the fullest – living with meaning and purpose – living as I think God intended me to live. Using the gift He blessed me with provides me with such bliss and passion and allows me to share the same with others."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF KATHLEEN FRANK
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The subjects of Kathleen Frank's magical oil paintings focus on landscapes and folk art in still life. She creates her compositions on bright red canvases that give her earthy palette another dimension. The red under-painting outlines each brush stroke, adding a remarkable flair to each piece. She paints with a centuries-old technique called a "grid system". By drawing grid lines through her sketch and repeating those lines on a canvas of similar shape, the Artist paints the canvas, grid by grid, without re-drawing the composition from sketch pad to canvas. Kathleen Frank began her art career as a wood carver. A close look at her paintings reveal that same "hand" as she uses small brushes with decisive strokes, reminiscent of perfectly placed chisel marks on a precise carving. On a personal note, a visit to Kathleen Frank's Santa Fe studio is like walking into one of her glorious oil paintings, ablaze with bold, beautiful colors! We encourage our Guests who love her work to visit her studio in person. It is the high point of the vacation, for those who make time, and my pleasure to make the arrangements.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
KATHLEEN FRANK REMEMBERS: "Around the age of five, I distinctly remember painting at my easel with big brushes and huge pots of bright colors. I papered our kitchen walls with my work. My favorite trips were to visit Artists who were friends of my parents – the landscape painter next door in Corona del Mar, the potter and the printmaker in the Mother Lode. I wanted that life of invention and creativity. I majored in art in college, taught art, worked as a woodcarver, performance artist, printmaker and painter. Looking back, I've always been an Artist, but I didn't start calling myself ARTIST until I was an adult and began painting full time."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF NANCY B. FRANK
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American Artist Nancy B. Frank has worked successfully in areas as varied as wooden jewelry, sculptured cakes, painted furniture, and photography, but she is known throughout the country as a painter of horses. Her larger-than-life creations on oversized, gallery-wrapped canvases become focal points with every Collector. Her work is captivating, theatrical, stunning, and painterly. The word that comes to mind is Bravo! We are thrilled to feature Nancy B. Frank's original acrylic paintings of horses here in the Art Hotel, La Posada de Santa Fe.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
NANCY B. FRANK REMEMBERS: "I wasn't just a horse crazy kid. I thought I was a horse! Little did I realize that dreams come true and that someday I would be riding my own horse and eventually become inspired to paint horses night and day after dividing my creative energies between so many medias, styles, and subjects. It took me a lifetime's journey to be able to see what was in front of me all along. When I decided to choose one favorite subject and build a body of work, I made the decision to focus on my passion for horses and my fascination with tack and the rider, and I then simply followed my heart."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF JAMES WYATT HENDRICKS
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The proportions of James Wyatt Hendrick's graceful steel cut sculptures, featured at La Posada, reflect the movement and forms around us. He is a master craftsman, known for his brilliant style as seen in his public art pieces. His new sculpture here at the hotel is designed for residential garden settings. He bridges together natural elements with the industrial, reflecting the world where we live. Mr. Hendrick's intention through sculpture is to create a balancing act which mirrors perfection in nature, and he strives for that ideal in every piece he creates. Attention to detail is essential and defines his glorious work. As La Posada's Art Curator, it gives me great pleasure to introduce his art in Santa Fe. On a personal note, I had one of Mr. Hendrick's sculptures taken from the hotel garden and delivered to our home last week so it could be crated for shipment to a Collector. I was not there when the delivery arrived, and discovered that the piece was placed on our patio rather than at our work area. What a spectacular surprise! Needless to say, our next acquisition will be one of James Wyatt Hendrick's sculpture!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
JAMES HENDRICKS REMEMBERS: "I was one of those kids who drew all the time. I won first place in the art fair when I was in the first grade and got my first set of oil paints when I was eleven. Sculpture fascinated me, and when I saw the sculpture garden at the World's Fair with the work of contemporary masters like Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Brancusi, and David Smith who became famous in the '20's and '30's for welded steel, I was impressed and determined to be an Artist like them. I was ten at the time."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF PATRICK DEAN HUBBELL
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Patrick Dean Hubbell is the only "up and coming" Artist in La Posada's Gallery Collection. All of the others are established professionals with followings and substantial resumes. He is just beginning his professional career with prize-worthy work included in a number of juried exhibitions in prestigious venues like The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. He is one of the young stars at Indian Market here in Santa Fe each summer. Mr. Hubbell is Navajo, and his art reflects his extraordinary heritage. He graduated in art from Arizona State University several years ago and since then has spent time working on an amazing series of paintings that he refers to as THE BRIGHTER SIDE. Most of this work pays tribute to his elders who are Native Americans from various tribes, although there are younger Natives in this series as well. Sunglasses are one of the common denominators shared by the subjects in this series, and they signify the connection between Hubbell's younger generation and his elders. The talented Patrick Dean Hubbell is an Artist that I have encouraged my children to collect. It is great to have early work from a painter with such promise!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
PATRICK DEAN HUBBELL REMEMBERS: "I became aware of my artistic ability and talent at a very young age. The basics, like drawing, design, and composition, were all easily learned. It wasn't until my high school that I really started to excel and take art classes seriously. In the back of my mind I knew that art was something I wanted to pursue as a career choice. My family always stressed that education, mixed with a passion for what I loved doing and was good at, was the way to choose a career. Being an Artist means having certain freedoms that allow me to create, mimic, and transform works of art through a certain creative, intuitive, and technical process in the pursuit of consistency and control. I am inspired and continue to develop my talents as I make art."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF KIRBY KENDRICK
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Kirby Kendrick paints from her heart, and her colorful art steals the show! Why? Her work is inspired, fresh, romantic, and painterly with interesting palettes that change drastically from one painting to the next. Her spirited brush-strokes are lively and engaging, and her passionate choices of subjects are so full of life. Whether she is painting florals or intimate interiors with compelling figures, New Mexican adobe churches, or her series titled HEART THROBS, she holds an audience. From her early Crayola drawings to her graduation from the New York Studio School in Greenwich Village, Artist Kirby Kendrick has been on a journey filled with adventure. Twenty years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. While still hospitalized, an Artist friend gave her a package of six Crayolas and a sketch book. She began drawings with this limited palette, inspired by the occasional flower and her doctor's neckties! It was then that she discovered a deep and abiding love of color and began a journey to become a painter. Home again, Kendrick proceeded to unabashedly paint the walls of her Santa Fe adobe home in the patterns of Matisse. When her walls were covered, she moved on to canvas and came to study with such prestigious artists as Elias Rivera, Sam Scott and Tom Noble, finally going to New York city for 3 years of classical training with Graham Nickson. She has been widely represented by galleries and museums, garnered awards in international exhibitions, and is in the permanent collection of the San Diego Fine Art Museum Galleries. Today, Kirby Kendrick divides her time between her studios in Santa Fe and San Diego. Five years ago she and Robert McLeod were married in Santa Fe with the wedding reception held at the most historically romantic and elegant spot town, La Posada! She is as thrilled to be represented here in the Gallery Collection as we are to have her spectacular paintings.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
KIRBY KENDRICK REMEMBERS: "I was fifty years old when I discovered art. It changed my life forever! Never before had I let my intuition take over. I unabashedly began to create art without fear or reservations, and because of that, I can honestly say that the past two decades have been the most stimulating of my life. Even in the middle of the night I awake energized with a creative blast, and I go with it! My artistic energy is tremendous, and it has been that way since I discovered that I, Kirby Kendrick, am really an Artist!"
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF DALE LAMPHERE
Dale Claude Lamphere is a world famous sculptor from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Although his most recent fascination is abstract contemporary sculpture, his focus for decades has been figurative pieces, using Native Americans as models in compositions that capture significant moments in their lives. TYING ON THE PLUME is a brilliant example of his work. It was formed from clay and then cast into bronze. This particular sculpture depicts a Grandmother tying a feather into a young girl's hair which is a ritual that emphasizes the importance of elders as mentors. The symbolism, historic significance, and authenticity of Mr. Lamphere's work reveals his incredible talent.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
DALE LAMPHERE REMEMBERS: "I've always loved to create. When I was four years old I attended an experimental education program at the University of Wyoming where my father was getting his Master's Degree. I clearly remember the day they brought clay into the classroom: the smell of the clay and its feel, the sunlight streaming through the west window, the shadows that were created, and the fact that everyone else was making 'snakes' and then coiling them into ashtrays. I didn't make a snake. I made a dragon-like lizard, and I remember afterwards, when the projects were lined up on a green countertop under the windows, my dragon-lizard stood out from everything else. I knew there and then that I was an Artist."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF TERRY LAZIN
Terry Lazin is a remarkable woman who has worn many hats. After making the difficult decision to lay down the mantle of her high-profile, consuming and successful businesses, Lazin chose surprising new tools for her trade.
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She explored the art of welding and plasma-cutting, and acquired a familiarity with power tools, as she thoughtfully transitioned to a new way of expressing her untapped passions, inquiring mind, and commitment to her own authenticity. Terry Lazin is now an assemblage Artist. Her artistic process begins when she finds discarded objects that appeal to her sense of curiosity. She cleans and sorts them, and inspiration transforms to ideas. With the urge to create but no idea what she will make, she looks through her mounds of distinctly different found-objects lying in color-coded piles, and she focuses on one particular piece that speaks to her. That first selection inspires the work at hand, and a design unfolds, piece by piece. The constant mystery and surprise underlying each creation is what keeps her engrossed in the process. Often other Artists visit La Posada to see Ms. Lazin's latest creations as she is an admirable talent. She has an eye for the unusual, an impressive sense of shape and form, and the ability to create true art from found-objects. In her last life, Terry Lazin was a brilliant business woman, a distinguished lawyer, an activist on a very public stage, and a woman who always thought out of the box.
Today she has taken her talents to the next level, following her interests and her heart. Her art reflects her own originality. Her compassion for others including her love of dogs and her new accomplishments with her assemblages are making this passage in her life enlightened, inspired, and as memorable as all of the others. The name of her studio is FOUND. I am in awe.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
TERRY LAZIN REMEMBERS: "I have never looked at art as a professional activity, perhaps because I have had a long, successful career prior to my art endeavors. Instead, after grappling with my Mother's death and personally facing a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, I initially threw myself into art as a form of therapy. I pursued my artwork because it allowed me to get lost in a totally peaceful place of authentic expression, where my inner voice was free to guide me wherever my passions suggested. I don't make art for other people. I create for myself, and am delighted if and when those creations bring other people joy."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF LIZ MANESS
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Liz Maness paints beautifully. She chooses old-fashioned, subjects that are often romantic, sentimental, and reminiscent of times gone by. Her traditional body of work is often compared to Mary Cassatt because of their choices of lovely subjects that they approach technically in very similar ways. Years ago when Liz Maness took a workshop from me, the only constructive suggestion I gave her was to raise her prices. She did not take my advice. Years later when I became Art Curator of the Gallery Collection at La Posada de Santa Fe and she accepted my invitation to join our stable of world-class Artists, I suggested again that she raise her prices. She declined, telling me that throughout her career collectors have acquired her work, which she has always considered their gift to her. She went on to say that when her life ends and her work sky-rockets in price, that will be her gift back to them! I plan to create an elegant book featuring the oil paintings of Liz Maness. She is a living American master.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
LIZ MANESS REMEMBERS: "As a child I was enthralled with any type of art, but I lived in a small southern town and didn't have the opportunity to follow my artistic interests. The hunger was there, but I had children of my own before I pursued my dream. My first art lesson evolved into years of study and decades of painting that has become my life`s work."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF DARLENE OLIVIA McELROY
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Darlene Olivia McElroy begins her mixed media collages with a veiled idea that evolves as she adds thin layers of paint, texture, and images. Her creations are visual stories that come together like puzzles. The final evolution often surprises her, much like reading a book where the ending only reveals itself on the very last page. She has written two books about the collage techniques she has developed, and she is working on a third. Artists from all over the world travel to Santa Fe to attend her workshops. I discovered Darlene Olivia McElroy's work quite by accident, while looking at the art of her friends. I never saw anything like it: fascinating subjects with unusual combinations of colors, intriguing surfaces, unexpected details, and compelling titles that suggest there is more than meets the eye. Darlene Olivia McElroy is an original thinker and enormously entertaining. Let me arrange a studio visit for you when you come to Santa Fe. There is always art in the making on her big work table, and an experience you will savor!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
DARLENE OLIVIA McELROY REMEMBERS: "As soon as I could hold a pencil or crayon, I was off on my art career! When I was four years old, I remember drawing a mural on my bedroom wall and thinking to myself – How cool is this!"
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF ARLENE MOLLOW
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Arlene Mollow has been painting professionally since the early 1970's. She has always experimented with techniques and supplies, and followed her interests to perfection.Regardless of her media, the Artist's modern abstracts have continually featured unusual combinations of fresh colors with sensual textures. She is widely known for her work in collage, watercolors, and oil paint. The WATER SERIES here at La Posada is her first collection using encaustic techniques. Encaustics are created with colored, melted wax. They are cured and resist changes in temperature, much like oil paintings. This is an ongoing collection that was initially introduced in a solo exhibition on the east coast for private collectors. Her work is so unique that it is no surprise that it is in demand. Arlene Mollow maintains studios in New York City and at the Jersey Shore. For decades her art has been the focus of numerous, prestigious, one-woman exhibitions. I have followed the work of this talented Artist for forty years, and this is the first time her originals have been seen in New Mexico, other than in private collections. As the Art Curator at La Posada, it is a pleasure to introduce Arlene Mollow's OCEANS, RIVERS, & STREAMS to our visitors and guests.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
ARLENE MOLLOW REMEMBERS: "When I was very young I wanted to be an actress. My mother had gone to college for two years as an art major, married her childhood sweetheart, had me, and then became a young widow. It was World War II, and my father was killed at Iwo Jima. As a young woman trying to support us, Mother didn't think anything associated with the arts was a good bet for a steady livelihood! I gave up the idea of the stage, and I started painting when my three children began school. I took a watercolor class and realized that I loved making art. I went back to school, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and I have spent my life ever since as a professional Artist. It doesn't get any better than this!"
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF JILL PANKEY
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Jill Pankey is a "hoot" and so are her paintings! They are perfect in the Staab Bar of the hotel where she paints whenever she and her husband are in Santa Fe. Her spirited compositions are imaginative and joyful, much like the Artist herself. She loves her life, and it shows in her work. Several of Jill Pankey's paintings show dancers whooping it up. The inspiration came from a Margarita Party she and her husband had at her Texas studio. Country Western music blared while her fellow professors from the university arrived and were served "toddies" made by Bob Pankey himself. In due course the Artist brought out her baskets of cowboy boots and tutus, and as her guests decked themselves out and continued to dance, Jill Pankey took photos of everyone and the festivities as subjects for an ongoing series! Remind me when you are in the Staab Bar to point out which set of legs belongs to the head of the science department!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
JILL PANKEY REMEMBERS: "I always thought I would grow up to be an Artist…. I was born into it! I started making art at 4 or 5. I went to college to get an all-level art education degree, but discovered I made more money as a graphic Artist, so that is what I did, initially. I worked for agencies. I was a newspaper Artist, a forensic Artist, an art director for the local TV station, and I did years of freelancing before I went back to school to get a Masters of Fine Art so I could teach in a university. Today I teach , and I paint my heart out! Being an Artist is who I am, and I cannot imagine life without it."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF MARY SHEPARD
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Mary Shepard is famous for her prize-worthy watercolors. Here at La Posada we have two of her series: AMERICAN HERITAGE is a collection of paintings of abandoned New Mexican trucks, and TECHNICOLOR CACTUS features some of the most exquisite watercolor cactus paintings I have ever seen. We also have several of the Artist's oil paintings featuring table settings in interiors. They are elegant compositions and show how multitalented Mary Shepard is. Her expressive paintings are a feast for the eye with an unmistakable style that is quite her own. Ms. Shepard paints with bold color. "Growing up on a farm in this land of enchantment fostered my passion for color and light and led to my explorations with painting techniques." This New Mexican Artist lives and works in south Texas where she is widely known as one of their Stars, but we can live with that, knowing it all began here!
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
MARY SHEPARD REMEMBERS: "In High School I realized that all the classes and projects I really liked involved drawing or some type of art or design. I studied art in college and became an interior designer. Fifteen years ago I put my "conventional" career aside to become a full time, independent studio Artist. Art has always been my passion and the only thing I really love doing."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF BETTY NANCE SMITH, OPA
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Betty Nance Smith is an award-winning Artist who for years has been recognized internationally as a respected member of the prestigious society, Oil Painters of America. Southwest Art Magazine did a feature story in the summer of 2011 titled "The Best Artists in the West". Betty Nance Smith was one of six Artists featured. She paints what she sees in the traditional Russian method, using "set-ups" in her studio to mark her way. She draws from life, keeping things to scale, and then mixes an exquisite palette before she begins to paint. These painting techniques have inspired masters for centuries. Betty Nance Smith charms her audiences when she tells them that she begins painting every composition with whatever wilts first! The flowers, their shadows, the fruit, and then the settings are painted in a style that can only be described as "old world elegance". Betty Nance Smith lives in Los Alamos, thirty five miles from La Posada. She welcomes studio visitors, and it is my pleasure to make the arrangements as I know it is always a remarkable experience. I have an easy map and suggestions of what you can see and do along the way. Whenever you discover an Artist whose work you adore, I encourage you to meet them in person. It adds a special dimension to your life, but also to theirs.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
BETTY NANCE SMITH REMEMBERS: "I have loved drawing and doing things with color since I can remember. Elementary school is when I took off. I became even more focused when my Mom realized I loved art more than piano lessons. She had come early to my teacher's house to listen to my piano playing, but she encountered silence, because I was busy drawing a cat on the piano teacher's waste basket! I was thrilled when art classes replaced the piano, although I can read music to this day. I was at Eastern New Mexico University studying for a special education degree with a minor in art, but that didn't last lasted through the first semester. My love for the art classes took over! When I told my parents that I had decided to be an Artist, I was happy and surprised that my father OK'd the idea saying, "It may be a hard way to make money, but I know you will be happy!"
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF BRUCE CLOVIS SMITH
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Bruce Clovis Smith is a master. His reputation as a distinguished Western Artist is renowned. It is not surprising that he has an enormous following. Mr. Smith not only paints phenomenal portraits of animals, but he raises the bar by placing them in a herd, on the run, in beautiful settings, with complicated shadows, patterns, and remarkable shapes that come together with colors inspired by daybreak, high noon, or campfire light. His attention to detail comes from his talent as a painter and his passion for his subjects. Throughout his life Bruce Clovis Smith has spent time working on ranches with cowboys. That, and his interest in history, evidenced in his paintings, adds authenticity to his compositions. We have the Artist's largest collection of originals here at the hotel, and they are breathtaking. Now is a marvelous opportunity for collectors to acquire originals by Bruce Clovis Smith. There is so much to choose from and all of the originals are available for sale at the Artist's studio prices since La Posada does not mark up the art.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
BRUCE CLOVIS SMITH REMEMBERS: "I have always been able to paint, but as a boy it never occurred to me to become a professional Artist. I knew that I didn't want a job like my father who was a dentist. It seemed confining. I have always been observant, and I realized as an adult that a career in art was the way to capitalize on that. After a brief period as a Marine I went to the Kansas City Art Institute and became an illustrator. Richard Schmid is the Artist who influenced me to give up commercial art, go to the studio, and paint what I knew best full time. I followed his advice and have done that for decades, and I will always be in his debt."
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THE ART CURATOR'S PROFILE OF DON WARD
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Don Ward is famous for his oil paintings of grandiose skies and memorable landscapes. His compositions are often larger-than-life, and his elegant, recognizable style is why his work is so popular. No matter where I am, when I see a spectacular sky, I give him all the credit: "Look! It's a Don Ward Sky!" We feature Mr. Ward's sky paintings in the living room area of the hotel lobby year round. After his VISUAL IMPRESSIONS exhibition that opens September 22, 2012 at the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House in Taos, New Mexico, we look forward to showcasing his newest series of large landscapes here in Santa Fe as they are slated for La Posada, the historic Art Hotel.
Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator
Curator's Office: 505-954-9668
DON WARD REMEMBERS: "I was seven when I told Dad that I was going to be an Artist when I grew up, because that's what I liked to do best. By that time I had made a book filled with my drawings of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Davy Crockett, and from what my father has said years later, it was really very good! My Grandmother was Sarah Mae Furth. Isn't that a great old-fashioned name? She is really the one who encouraged me to stay with my art interests, because it was something she always wanted to do herself but never had opportunities like I did. I was the Artist of my High School, did art in the Navy, and then went to The Art Center College of Design in LA. When I discovered Taos, New Mexico with the light and the sky and the landscape, I knew it was where I wanted to paint, so in 1985 I moved my studio there. I have absolutely no regrets!"
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