"Where Dreams Are Born," is an oil on canvas created by Las Cruces artist Meg Freyermuth in December 2018. It depicts the Rough and Ready Hills, which are a part of the Sierra de las Uvas region of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. “The title comes from a dream I had about this spot before I'd ever visited this location, and the bright colors are actually how I see the world,” said Freyermuth, who is chair of the City of Las Cruces Art Board. “However, this spring has especially bright super blooms of Gordon's bladderpod growing in this area, so these hills look pretty close to this painting thanks to the late winter rains we had. This image, like spring, brings me a lot of hope, inspiration, and happiness. I hope it can do the same for others.”
Photo courtesy of Meg Freyermuth
“Mr Bluebird on My Flower” was first painted by Las Cruces artist C.C. Cunningham in 2014 “as a totally different abstract piece,” Cunningham said. “I repainted it after I moved back to New Mexico In 2015. I was inspired by the bright colors enjoyed here and the beautiful multi-colored sunsets that bring me joy.” The artwork is acrylic on canvas. Contact Cunningham at 720-281-0629 and c.c.cunningham.art@gmail.com. Visit www.cccunningham.com.
Photo courtesy of C.C. Cunningham
“Finding O'Keefe circa 1989,” oil on canvas created in 2001 by Las Cruces artist Dennis Lujan. Lujan said the painting was inspired by a trip he took with his partner and their parents, “looking to find Georgia O'Keefe's home in Abiquiu, in the summer of 1989.”
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lujan
“CLOSED...HELL No!” by Las Cruces artist Emmitt Booher. The photograph is pigment ink on 100 percent cotton rag and was taken Dec. 27, 2018 in the Dripping Springs area east of Las Cruces. “What started out as a personal protest march against an unnecessary shutdown of public lands at the end of 2018 ended with my creating meaningful image of the Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks National Monument,” Booher said. “This image was created after a rare dusting of snow on the Organ Mountains. The atmosphere was very overcast and grey as folks were hiking toward La Cueva and the visitor center beyond. The conversations were inevitably negative due to the shutdown even though the mountains before us and the valley behind us were beautiful. During a rest period, I met a family from France. The children and their parents were vacationing in America. They were frustrated to find the monument closed but rather than leave they decided to make the best of the situation. As the family and I had a conversation about their time in America the skies started clearing. The mood of negativity created by circumstance immediately turned to exclamations of joy and optimism by all those present. Such is the wonder of art in our natural world, our public lands and the people of the world.” Contact Booher at 575-644-8087 and ebooher@hughes.net. Visit www.ZoneVIII.com
Image courtesy of Emmitt Booher
“Self Portrait at 60” is a 10-inch by 20-inch oil on canvas painted by Las Cruces artist Bob Diven in January 2020. “I painted it after my 60th birthday-trip to Paris last summer [my birthday is on Bastille Day (July 14)],” Diven said. “I'd sold my wrecked homebuilt airplane on eBay and used the money for the once-in-a-lifetime trip. I ended up spending a lot of my time in great museums and I found myself drinking in every 19th-century portrait I could set my eyes on. I've always been a bit of a 19th-century painter in my technique, so I came home inspired. I also came home with a new clarity about what my paintings of the last couple of years have really been about, and it turns out to be portraiture. Some of that energy called for a new self-portrait. I do one every so often, but there was something about this one that was just, well, different, and better than my earlier work. I look at it and may wish I looked younger or more dashing, but all of those concerns are absorbed by a boyish excitement that after 40 years of experience I am an artist capable of pulling off such a painting that my friends have responded to so positively. I like it as a painting more than as a self-portrait.”
Artwork courtesy of Bob Diven
"Happy Place," by Las Cruces artist Bonnie Mandoe. The artwork “is an 18-inch by 22-inch collage, an example of how the co-mingling of ancient art, cut from a magazine and a spontaneous expressionist acrylic painting, combined to make something wonderful,” Mandoe said. “Anyone can make a collage, it's a good project for people who think they can't draw. Visit www.bonniemandoe.com.
Photo courtesy of and all images copyright Bonnie Mandoe
“Copenhagen,” by Las Cruces artist Matthew Begin, is from his “Subway Series” and is based on actual subway maps, Begin said.
Photo courtesy of Matthew Begin
"Heart Strings," by Las Cruces artist Nancy Begin Frost, is “an image based on Icons,” Begin said. “I felt this was very uplifting, as I can hear the music of the flute and violin and feel the air move as the women dance.”
Photo courtesy of Nancy Begin
“Wildflowers” is a watercolor painted this month by Las Cruces artist Jan M. Hampton. “Inspired by wildflower postage stamps and my creative friends who attend our temporarily closed Desert Sunrise Studio, I painted this watercolor a week ago,” Hampton said. “Lovely, delicate and playful, flowers are reminders that our worries are temporary and have no real power. Beautiful and mysterious life continues in spite of them.”
Photo courtesy of Jan M. Hampton
“Bright New Day,” an eight-inch by 10-inch alcohol ink on clay board work of art completed in 2019 by Las Cruces artist Jo-an Smith. “I chose ‘Bright New Day’ for its brilliant array of reds an oranges so typical of our sunrise colors in this area,” Smith said. “It also represents our hopes for the future and those we continue to have each day as we learn how live in this challenging world. The sturdy little tree with its strong and spreading branches and roots represents all of us surviving and growing. I am often reminded of Thomas Jefferson's favorite quote (originally from Virgil)....’Carry on and prepare yourself for better times.’”
Photo courtesy of Jo-an Smith