'Layers of color and light': Millicent Rogers Museum to host the Pastel Society of New Mexico's 32nd national exhibition

Mar. 24—Arainbow of enchanted colors awaits visitors who gaze at a bevy of landscapes, snowscapes, still lifes and portraits in Taos.

The Millicent Rogers Museum is hosting the Pastel Society of New Mexico's 32nd national pastel exhibition from Saturday, March 30, through June 2.

This year's show drew 255 entries, up from 190 of last year. Judges chose over 60 works to hang in the museum. Numerous cash and sponsorship awards totaling more than $10,000 awaits the winners.

Juanita Nelson, who lives near Aztec, travels the state to capture landscapes, animals and portraits.

A home birth midwife, she became an artist eight years ago after taking a single pastel class.

"I took a class from a friend and it was like somebody flipped on a switch in my brain," she said.

"I think (pastels) are very flexible in that I can work in layers of color and light."

"Abiquiú Winter" grew from one of her trips.

Its snowy cliffs climb like stepping stones into a New Mexico blue sky.

"That just caught my eye," she said. "I was wanting to do a piece that captured that depth of field.

"That area of Abiquiú at Ghost Ranch — everybody paints the same thing," Nelson continued. "I wanted to do something reflective of that area but that was different.

"I'm obsessed," Nelson added. "I've been catching babies for 45 years but what I really want to do is stay home and paint."

Placitas resident John DeSpain began working in pastels just four years ago. A former graphic artist, he has always worked in pastels.

"I think because it's a combination of drawing and painting, but you get that immediate color," he said. "As I learn more, it is really a flexible medium. You can do abstract, illustration, portraiture. I've always felt it's never gotten its due; it's the younger brother of oil painting."

DeSpain takes a photo-realist view of landscapes and still lifes. His piece "Sanguine" offers a close-up view of a richly-colored blanket flower.

"That's from a rest area near Salt Lake City," he said.

Rio Rancho's Gail Sacharczuk gave an expressionist take on Arizona's Wukoki Pueblo, an abandoned structure near Flagstaff. The pueblo was occupied between 1100 and 1200 C.E.

Bold slashes of color add drama to the rocky building rising from a sandstone pedestal.

"I'm not a hyperrealist," Sacharczuk said. "I'm about dramatic use of color and expression.

"There was utter and complete silence; there were no birds. You could feel the spirituality of their presence."

Sacharczuk moved here from the Philadelphia area, where she worked in fashion design. She took a pastel class when she moved here.

"I just fell in love," she said. "All the colors are like peacocks; they're fixed. You can layer them. It was a natural fit for me."

The show marks the first time Sacharczuk has been accepted.

"I'm thrilled," she said. "I'm over the moon. I feel very honored; the level of talent is unbelievable."