Fourth Annual Mount Taylor show opens

GRANTS - A festive opening reception was held March 21 at the Double Six Gallery to mark the Fourth Annual Mount Taylor Exhibit and new art from Los Alamitos Middle School students and member artists.

A new feature this year was original piano music provided by Les Herbst of the District Attorney's Office. Most of the tunes had a decidedly jazz flavor and Herbst vocalized on some of them.

Mount Taylor is a subject which can be viewed from a myriad of angles and depicted in a variety of media, making the annual exhibit fresh each year. New paintings and photographs dominated the show, with three new members exhibiting for the first time.

Kristina Faught-Hollar depicted the mountain in rich lavenders and purples in “Mount Taylor - Snowy Twilight,” an oil painting. Photographer Doyne Loyd was showing large works entitled “Mount Taylor East #1” and “Aspen/Mount Taylor.”

Jim Sayre, usually known for his sculpture, was displaying photos entitled “January Sunset II” and January Dawn I.”  Art teacher Margaret Bland produced a very colorful painting titled, “Mount Taylor 2009” while fellow teacher Cynthia Gail offered an acrylic work with playful horses in the foreground and Mount Taylor in background.

Photographer Sherri Carattini displayed two striking works, one titled “Guardian” shows an elk at the base of the mountain, and “Industrial Revelation” catches smokestacks with Mount Taylor in the background.

Fellow photographer Connie Gallegos showed “At the Caldera's Edge” and “Haystack Mountain,” while sculptor husband Robert Gallegos ventured into photography with “Milan Watercolor,” a picture featuring a brilliant turquoise pickup truck.

Gallery employee Eve Johnson publicly displayed a painting for the first time with “Solitude,” a study of a mountain lion on Mount Taylor.

Watercolorist Mary Jane Milz offered “Mount Taylor Southwest,” using the soft colors she is known for.

Not to be outdone by the adult artists, students from Los Alamitos Middle School mounted an exhibit on the student art wall. Art teachers Daniel Bland and Cynthia Gail were on hand to answer questions from the visitors.

Papier mache and plaster of Paris were used by the students to create masks, most of which depicted animals. A standout was a purple elephant mask created by seventh grader Keana Taliman.

Eighth graders Brande Howeya and Daniel Sedillos offered interpretations of the Obama “hope” posters, while Devin Lauther showed a work of optical illusion, using geometric shapes.

There were also linoleum prints, portraits executed in pencil, crayon and acrylic tempura and “scratchboard” landscapes displayed by the students.

Also debuted at the opening were new works by artist members. New member Judy Gonser displayed two dramatic works in crayon and pastel, including “Warrior Horse I” and “Melancholy.”

Another new member, Barbara de Luca, offered “Zinnias: A Self Portrait.”

There are also new works by Jay Dickens, Denise Sanchez, Fran Barbano, Les Herbst, Arnold Nelson, Jesus Tito Gomez, Floyd Nelson, Peggy Loyd, Eric Brinovec, Fran Barbano, Jan Bennett and David Carr.

Board President Randolph Collins announced that a Bluegrass concert will be held May 30 and the spring opening of a museum exhibit on Zuni Mountain railroad logging.