Collectors Corner! Ed Sandoval's Newsletter (Taos, NM)

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Collectors Corner!

Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter

119 Quesnel Street, Taos, NM 87571

www.edsandovalgallery.com

edsandovalart@gmail.com

(575) 770-6360

Happy New Year & Happy Anniversary to Me

Folks, it’s 2023, and I’m so excited – first because 2022 was a very strange year (more on that later) and second because my gallery is officially 30 years old (1993 – 2023). Wow! We are going to celebrate with special events and have all kinds of fun this year.

As a brief reminder, after graduating from Los Alamos High School, I went to and worked in Los Angeles for a few years, returned to NM to attend college, married Vicki and had kids prior to graduating with my BA in Art, moved to Utah to teach art at a junior high, high school and college while getting my MA in Psychology, returned to NM (again) to teach in Los Alamos for a decade or so, started my own construction company and built adobe homes all over the place, and, through it all, painted and showed my work in galleries and other venues. Whew! It feels like I lived a long, full life already by the time we even get to 1993.

My Painting on Taos Phone Book (1991)

My Mom: Millicent Rogers Show

Millicent Rogers Show in 1991 (Taos News)

I can’t remember if opening my own gallery had always been a dream, but, in the early 90’s, momentum began to build. I was represented by at least three galleries and had a successful one-man show at the Millicent Rogers Museum in 1991 (sold out). Gaining confidence (and being an impulsive type), I suppose I simply decided to take the plunge.

Fancy Opening Notice on Construction Paper - LOL

Me, Pola & Anita: My 1993 Gallery Launch (Taos News)

On June 11, 1993, I held the opening reception for my gallery: Studio De Colores (now Ed Sandoval Gallery) on Quesnel Street. At first, I thought it would be fun to make the gallery a cooperative space, so I invited two Hispanic artists, Pola Lopez de Jaramillo and Anita Rodriguez, to show their work with me. Over time, they pursued other opportunities, and I showed my work exclusively. I still did construction for years but felt like an official "artist."

Early 1994 Gallery Ad: GuestLife New Mexico

"Memories of the Heart" (18x24) Painted in 93 - Year I Opened Gallery

"Long Walk Home" (24x30) - 1993

What a wild ride – with so many ups and downs! Did I have successes? Yes, and there were times when I felt on top of the world. Did I have failures and make mistakes? Oh you bet… and some of them were GHASTLY… cost me dearly and darn near took me under. Did I struggle with changing economics? Oh yes, like after the 2008 crash, when I opened a second location at the entrance to the Taos Plaza to increase my exposure. Did I learn to adapt and shift gears? Absolutely, especially when Gwen finally got here full time, took over the business side and got me back on track with finances (and everything else). She also introduced me a new business model, a diversified pathway forward using (and using better) online platforms, social media, outreach, etc. I had never done that before.

My Painting on Cover of Santa Fe Phone Book (1994)

Hard at Work Painting (and Impersonating Jim Croce...)

Receiving 2012 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts

Being exposed to and embracing the digital frontier opened up a whole new world for me. I was skeptical at first, but I listened listed to logic, took a leap of faith and saw results. I'm having so much fun that we are expanding our efforts in 2023. The sky is the limit! So here I am, in my 30^th year, reflecting back, appreciating my personal learning and growth and looking forward to the next exciting phase of the journey. I feel like a kid again!

"Taos Valley" (26x56) Painted in 2002

This year will be filled with fun surprises – I haven’t figured them all out yet, but we’ll have an opening (probably in September) focusing on miniature/smaller paintings and resurrect “Roll Call” on my gallery Facebook page (giveaways where you enter your home city/state and are entered into drawings for free stuff). And, in addition to shows and events in Santa Fe, I’m hoping to do more in Taos. Stay tuned – it’s going to be a fun, festive 2023.

2022: A Very Odd Year

Since this is the first newsletter of the New Year, I'd like to reflect back on 2022. What a bizarre, mixed bag!

I must start with the invasion of Ukraine. Folks, it really bothered me, and I couldn't stop thinking about all the pain, suffering and destruction. I felt helpless and suspected that I was depressed. I'm normally a very positive, happy person, so this threw me for a loop. I wasn't sure what to do, so I decided to paint. I imagined El Viejito, saddened by the war. He's too elderly to help, but he can go into his village and buy a little flag for his humble home to show his compassion and solidarity. I titled it "Solidarity" (18x24).

Right as I was starting to cope with Ukraine, something closer to home consumed me with worry and anxiety: the horrifying Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Wildfire that became the most destructive in New Mexico's history. Beginning in April, it wasn't fully contained until late August. For months, brutally high, unrelenting winds, drought conditions and high temperatures fueled the flames and it just continued to grow, grow and grow.

Communities and villages were evacuated, thousands of firefighters from all over the country (and beyond) came to battle the blazes around the clock, sleeping in tents in the mountains. In San Miguel, Mora and Taos counties, 341,471 acres burned, and the scars on the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains remain. [Photo from Taos News (Source)]

Of course, "normal" life had to go on, but our states of mind were anything but normal. I kept painting, having shows and attending events, but there was always a vulnerability in the backs of our minds, as present as the visible smoke that billowed way up in the air over the mountains.

As a result, we decided to do our wills. Can you believe that I've never had a will? What a strange experience... not exactly fun, but when surrounded by uncertainty every day, it felt good to cement one in place. Gwen also encouraged and then convinced me to start a retirement account, which I also had never had. It feels fabulous to be an "investor," to finally have a bit of cushion for my... old(er) age. Ha!

As firefighters gained ground on the wildfire and with our wills and retirement accounts in place, I was feeling fairly good again. That's when the hacking began. Some person(s) were trying to steal my digital assets and ruin everything we built up over seven years of hard work. Luckily, we know a cyber expert who swooped in and shut that $%@# down! Sadly, there are criminals who try to take the easy (and morally bankrupt) way to make a buck instead of working. Happily, we are now fully encrypted and locked down – we won.

But amid the worry and chaos, there were bright spots in 2022 too – taking road trips to see more of New Mexico. fun events where I could mingle with lots of people, live music returning in full force (like the Barn Dance), family celebrations and of course the holidays. Being featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post was phenomenal, and I'm proud of the progress we made either by choice or by force of messed-up circumstances. In the end, it was all progress, and the future never looked brighter. Cheers!!!

On Cover of Saturday Evening Post (Sept/Oct)

Visiting White Sands on March Road Trip

Fundraiser for St. Anthony Catholic Church in Questa