A New Painter on the Block (continued)

Margi’s paintings come to life through watercolor as well as oil and pastel.  If you want to watch her technique, don’t step away even for a moment as she begins.  A blank sheet of watercolor paper is, in a flash of an eye, quickly covered with splashes of color that masterfully, almost magically, take shape into beautiful telling portraits and landscapes.  Her portraits convey the thoughts of the person almost as much as the appearance of them.  And watch out when she gets going on an oil painting!  This two-fisted paint slinger can make clouds, rocks and arroyos appear from out of nowhere!  There is no drawing on the canvas or paper, the drafting is in her mind’s eye as she makes color decisions on the spot with the flick of a brush.

Her paintings have been adorned with ribbons and awards in shows across several states.  Margi’s work has also been exhibited in Will Rogers Bank in Claremore, Oklahoma, the Red Barn Gallery in Grove, Oklahoma, the Art Store in Conway, Arkansas, The State Capitol Building in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Blue Canyon Gallery in Magdalena.  She is definitely an artist to watch, and an asset to our art community here in Central New Mexico.

Jane Fullerton (continued)

Jane Fullerton created this collage of prints called Predecessors while in Hawaii.

Named in Who’s Who since 2001, Jane says she is “grateful to Socorro folks and Native American neighbors who have befriended me since the ‘60s with support for both my art and eclectic business agendas.”

She has painted under the name Jo Bison for the past few years while dividing her time between Socorro and Hawaii. It was in Hawaii that the idea for her picture “Predecessors” took form.

“You know, it’s very wet there in Hawaii” she states. “And I had these old prints that…well anyway they had gotten wet …” And, since she is not only a watercolorist, but also likes to create “recycled art, Jane began to make a collage.

The finished piece includes visuals of a man and woman of Indian or Spanish origin together under a mantilla with a pueblo on a cliff at the top left. Petroglyphs, Abo, a generic Black Mesa, a tombstone.  A print reversed turned into a negroid figure while the hair of an ear of corn turns into the hair of a gringo. The bricks of Quarai, mysterious dancers and dances, a horse ,and crosses all combine into the collage, forming an entire series of crosses.

“It was great fun,” she says about creating Predecessors. “I’m kinda a history buff.”

Pieces by Jo Bison may be seen at New Mexico Tech’s Library, at Val Verde Steakhouse, at the Showplace at the Val Verde Hotel and by appointment at her home/studio, 512 California Street. For an appointment, call (505)838-5436.