WELCOME TO ARTISTS, COLLECTORS, AND ANYONE WHO LOVES ART!
Artist Spotlight focuses on interesting artists, upcoming exhibitions, and articles about art and those who love it or create it.
Discover new ways to stretch your imagination, be introduced to new artists, their exhibits, and books to read about them. Expect to excite your mind. Comments are very welcome! -- Rosemary Carstens
Mixed media artist DARLENE OLIVIA MCELROY creates works of vision and imagination in her Santa Fe studio. She fashions her richly textured, sensuous paintings using an amazing array of found objects, photo transfer, gold leaf, paint, collage, and, as she puts it, “juicy thoughts.”
McElroy doesn’t just put a bunch of disparate objects on canvas or board, she excels at telling stories utilizing history, symbolism, and iconic images. Color and texture constantly inspire her and she’s something of a magician as she conjures up new techniques that add depth and interest to her exceptional work. 
“There’s something about the look people had in old photos, the life an object had before it landed in my hands, the honoring of what came before and how all of this can be reinterpreted . . . I think I am part magpie. There is something about a corroded piece of metal, an old button, keys, the odd things that make me want to take [them] to a new place.”
Darlene McElroy was born and raised in Southern California and is descended from an old New Mexico family of artists and storytellers. Visions of summers spent growing up on her family’s Santa Fe ranch, with its “rich tapestry of Hispanic life,” dance constantly in her head and influence her work.
This weekend, November 14-15, Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday 11-4, McElroy will be participating in the Santa Fe Studio Tour. She and artists MARY PARKER (acrylic and oil demented still lives) and LINDA FILHARDT (monoprints) invite you to stop by, enjoy treats and special studio pricing. Go to http://www.santafestudiotour.com for a list of participating artists. McElroy’s studio is #15—directions are on the website, or you can call 505-471-8300.
To see more of McElroy’s images, for technique tips and workshop dates, to read her blog or purchase books and videos, visit her website at http://darleneoliviamcelroy.com.
Tomorrow, September 14, an exhibition of NEW WORK BY DAVID PEARSON will open at the Patricia Carlisle Fine Art gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM. It will run through September 23, with an opening reception this coming Friday, 9/18.
Pearson's work is about beauty, litheness, and eternal grace. He brings an element of emotion to each piece that must be seen personally to be fully engaged. To him, creation is a circle of connectivity between the artist, the gallery, and the collector. Pearson feels it is that circular energy that “completes the communication,” and there is no doubt that his figurative work inspires communication, creating a silent dialogue between viewer and sculpture that is fresh and exciting.
Through his imaginative use of proportion, abstraction, exaggeration, and minimalism Pearson 
captures a classic, renaissance aesthetic in his pieces. He sculpts ethereal figures that unfailingly portray a range of quiet emotions, figures caught unawares, in repose, in a moment of contemplation or unselfconscious pleasure.
Pearson’s mastery of his craft and his in-depth explorations of art history have led to his continually growing international reputation as a master craftsman. He built his studio on acreage outside Santa Fe that he and his wife purchased in the 1990s, and his work ethic is legendary. It is not unusual for him to work from sunup to sundown.
While his ability to bring his visions to fruition is a testament to his skill, he has said in interviews that his signature elongated, elegant figures “flow” out of him, inspired by mythology and history, the Etruscans, and by such artists as Modigliana and Giacometti. But, in the end, they are all Pearson, the stunning product of a rich mind and impressive talent.More images can be seen at Carlisle Fine Art & on
David Pearson's website.
(Top left: mirothea, 28”; right, misceo, 40”; bottom left, the artist; right, his studio)
Santa Fe ceramist Deborah Rael-Buckley creates life-size chair and figure ceramic sculptures layered with meaning and rich symbolism. Each stoneware piece features branches, bones, ropes, writing, and symbols intertwined to create a thought-provoking play of light, shadow, and story. Beneath the obvious beauty and innovation of Rael-Buckley’s work lies a narrative about culture, religion, and family.
Deborah is an award-winning artist, born under the hot New Mexico sun, who has lived, studied, and worked in such diverse regions as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cortona, Italy, and, most recently, in Brussels, Belgium. Her work can be seen in museums, private collections, in her studio, on her website, or at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe.
The artist’s newest work is informed by research into her ancestors, by her travels, and by her journey home to her birth place: “I love the New Mexican landscape and the state’s varied cultures. My work relates to that and my feeling of being rooted here.”
To learn more about this artist and her imaginative work: http://www.deborahraelbuckley.com
Mixed media artist DARLENE OLIVIA MCELROY creates works of vision and imagination in her Santa Fe studio. She fashions her richly textured, sensuous paintings using an amazing array of found objects, photo transfer, gold leaf, paint, collage, and, as she puts it, “juicy thoughts.” 
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