Oso Art, Capitan
An Interview with Greg Russell
- the Creative Mind behind Oso
By Rosalyn Stevenson - Steppin’ Out Regional Rep
{pengwen note: Who and why? That’s what we wanted to know about the wonderful new gallery in Capitan,
Oso Art. Our regional representative spoke with the owner recently to find out.}
<center><img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/Oso_Art_Outside_01.jpg align=center border=1 vspace=5 hspace=5 alt=""><br><font size=3 Face="Arial Narrow" color=#000000></font></center>
R.S. (to Mr. Russell): “So many people ask me, who you are, Mr. Russell, where do you come from…how did you get to Capitan, New Mexico….and what does it mean to you here…?
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/Oso_Greg.jpg align=right border=1 vspace=1 hspace=5 alt="...We camped in the Boca Campground and it was November, and it was very cold. The nights were miserable, but the days…were beautiful.">G.R. “Yes, hmmm.” His brown eyes look away from my inquisitive ones, off into the prussian blue afternoon sky as he answers.
“My family and I had lived for 22 years in Florida and it was changing…Naples, Florida. It was called the fastest growing little town in America. We were tired of the growth, tired of the hurricanes. We went traveling for one year, and we traveled all over the country, in a Volkswagen bus, my wife and I and our two children. We even traveled to Alaska. We were home schooling our children for that year. We were looking for something… then we came here. We camped in the Boca Campground and it was November, and it was very cold. The nights were miserable, but the days…the days were beautiful. We decided to come here again, and we did. We took one month trips here each year…for three years.
“I had traveled the world seeking pristine places where resorts could be built, and I would identify the places and then sell them, and I would manage them for awhile, that was my work. And then I found this place, a high alpine place, surrounded by forests…my wife and I were drawn here again and again…we bought the “Sullivan House” here and we deemed it as a place to show artists work. We had initially thought of this as a showcase for Arabella artists, where we had found land and built a home just before finding this place.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/Oso_Art_Outside_02.jpg align=left border=1 vspace=1 hspace=5 alt="This building, where Oso Art Gallery is housed, came up for sale... I bought it and my wife designated it as an art gallery.">“Then this building, where Oso Art Gallery is housed, came up for sale. I was told that it was to be made into a mini-mart. It had been a bank in 1905 and had gone bankrupt in 1917. Since then it has been a mercantile, a pawnshop and a skating rink, (because of the great wood floors). I bought it and my wife designated it as an art gallery. That was a little more than a year ago. It has become the signature place of this village. Artists from all over Lincoln County are drawn here because of the fair commissions on their work and because we honor work from “folk to fine.”
R.S. And what is the future of Oso Art?”
G.R. “Slow, intelligent growth.” Here Mr. Russell’s eyes scan the landscape with a dreamy yet electric look. “We are doing this Capitan beautification project, planting flowers in eclectic containers, and our artists are creating works with flower themes.” He smiles softly. “We’re planning a Billy the Kid Film Festival for the future. During the summer we’ll be showing some classic movies in an outdoor setting, on Friday evenings. We’ll be asking the viewers what movies they want to see, too.”
An Interview with Greg Russell
- the Creative Mind behind Oso
By Rosalyn Stevenson - Steppin’ Out Regional Rep
{pengwen note: Who and why? That’s what we wanted to know about the wonderful new gallery in Capitan,
Oso Art. Our regional representative spoke with the owner recently to find out.}
<center><img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/Oso_Art_Outside_01.jpg align=center border=1 vspace=5 hspace=5 alt=""><br><font size=3 Face="Arial Narrow" color=#000000></font></center>
R.S. (to Mr. Russell): “So many people ask me, who you are, Mr. Russell, where do you come from…how did you get to Capitan, New Mexico….and what does it mean to you here…?
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/Oso_Greg.jpg align=right border=1 vspace=1 hspace=5 alt="...We camped in the Boca Campground and it was November, and it was very cold. The nights were miserable, but the days…were beautiful.">G.R. “Yes, hmmm.” His brown eyes look away from my inquisitive ones, off into the prussian blue afternoon sky as he answers.
“My family and I had lived for 22 years in Florida and it was changing…Naples, Florida. It was called the fastest growing little town in America. We were tired of the growth, tired of the hurricanes. We went traveling for one year, and we traveled all over the country, in a Volkswagen bus, my wife and I and our two children. We even traveled to Alaska. We were home schooling our children for that year. We were looking for something… then we came here. We camped in the Boca Campground and it was November, and it was very cold. The nights were miserable, but the days…the days were beautiful. We decided to come here again, and we did. We took one month trips here each year…for three years.
“I had traveled the world seeking pristine places where resorts could be built, and I would identify the places and then sell them, and I would manage them for awhile, that was my work. And then I found this place, a high alpine place, surrounded by forests…my wife and I were drawn here again and again…we bought the “Sullivan House” here and we deemed it as a place to show artists work. We had initially thought of this as a showcase for Arabella artists, where we had found land and built a home just before finding this place.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/Oso_Art_Outside_02.jpg align=left border=1 vspace=1 hspace=5 alt="This building, where Oso Art Gallery is housed, came up for sale... I bought it and my wife designated it as an art gallery.">“Then this building, where Oso Art Gallery is housed, came up for sale. I was told that it was to be made into a mini-mart. It had been a bank in 1905 and had gone bankrupt in 1917. Since then it has been a mercantile, a pawnshop and a skating rink, (because of the great wood floors). I bought it and my wife designated it as an art gallery. That was a little more than a year ago. It has become the signature place of this village. Artists from all over Lincoln County are drawn here because of the fair commissions on their work and because we honor work from “folk to fine.”
R.S. And what is the future of Oso Art?”
G.R. “Slow, intelligent growth.” Here Mr. Russell’s eyes scan the landscape with a dreamy yet electric look. “We are doing this Capitan beautification project, planting flowers in eclectic containers, and our artists are creating works with flower themes.” He smiles softly. “We’re planning a Billy the Kid Film Festival for the future. During the summer we’ll be showing some classic movies in an outdoor setting, on Friday evenings. We’ll be asking the viewers what movies they want to see, too.”