The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery (MVFG), 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, across from the Fountain Theatre on the historic plaza in Mesilla, will feature work by local artists Mark Morden and Bobbie Widner in December.
Morden is a retired architect from the Pacific Northwest who moved to Las Cruces in 2018, MVFG said in a news release. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Oregon in 1980, where he studied pastels and drawing in addition to architecture. Morden paints still lifes and portraits and draws charcoal pencil portraits and figure studies.
“My paintings most often reflect the Southwest and its people,” said Widner, a native New Mexican.
Travels to the Tarahumara/Mayan regions, Portugal, Spain and France as well as plein-air workshops in Italy, Big Sur and San Miguel Allende, Mexico have been fascinating sources for Widner to draw from, the gallery said. She has studied with art instructors at the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico State University and in Carrizozo. Her paintings are in collections in five countries, the news release said.
MVFG’s 30 featured artists offer original art in various media, including oil, acrylics, pastels, watercolor, fused glass art jewelry, woodturnings, stained glass, photography, ceramics, mixed media, decorated gourds, textile weavings, art tile, fiber art, natural gemstone jewelry, fused glass, colored pencil, charcoal, pen and ink drawings, prints, cards and miniature paintings.
First American Bank, 1553 Avenida de Mesilla, features the work of many of the gallery’s artists.
MVFG is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day.
Call 575-522-2933. Visit www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com.
