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| Santa Fe, New Mexico |
Vanessa A. Ryan is an
actress, author, and artist whose paintings and sculptures are collected
worldwide. At one point, she performed standup comedy, so her writing often
reflects her love of humor, even for serious subjects. Learn more
about Vanessa and her books at her website.
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| Navajo silver and turquoise bolo photo by Markus Barlocher |
The Art World Of Santa Fe
The Santa Fe art scene means
different things to people. For some, it's all about American Indian art. Their
weavings, pottery, paintings and jewelry. In August, people flock to Santa Fe
for Indian Market week, an outdoor celebration displaying contemporary,
traditional and antique Indian art. The city also has a similar art week for
Spanish art, held in July. In addition to these two cultural events, many art
galleries in the city deal exclusively in Indian or Spanish art year round.
Santa Fe is also known for
contemporary art galleries that exhibit work of artists who are not working in
the Native American or Spanish traditions. In the early twentieth century, many
artists from other states came to New Mexico because of its scenery and
simplistic way of life. They formed art colonies, which led to Santa Fe and
Taos attracting tourists who wanted to buy their art. Who hasn't heard of one
of the most famous of these artists, Georgia O'Keefe?
Today, the city has a
contemporary art scene that rivals New York and Los Angeles.
Because Santa Fe occupies
a small geographic area, it's easy for people to visit a multitude of art
galleries in a short amount of time. While there are shopping areas outside the
downtown districts, you won't find art galleries there, since most of the
tourist trade is closer to the center of town.
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| Navajo Blankets photo by Matthew A. Lynn |
As you can imagine,
galleries pay a premium to be in these downtown areas. Because of that, they
tend to exhibit world-renown artists rather than the local artists. However, the
local artists who can afford the high rents often operate galleries exclusively
for their own work. But regardless of whatever art market people are interested
in, it's the quaint streets and enchanting landscape of Santa Fe that attracts
them.
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A Palette For Murder (A Lana Davis Mystery)
Lana Davis arrives in New Mexico from Los Angeles, planning to
look up a former boyfriend and take in some sightseeing. But this
all-expense-paid trip is not a vacation. She's here to find Antonio Chavez,
last seen in Santa Fe. He's the missing beneficiary of a large life insurance
policy her company issued. The heat is on because a disgruntled heir insists he
should receive the proceeds instead. However bogus his claim is, the public
relations nightmare he causes for her company is real. If Lana doesn't find
Antonio, her job is on the line.
Lana's search for Antonio brings her into the inner circle of a
powerful art gallery in Santa Fe, owned by the daughter of a wealthy family.
Although Lana's knowledge of art is limited to the one art history class she
took in college, she soon discovers, when art and greed collide, the result is
deadly. But her knack for finding dead bodies makes the police nervous. And
finding herself a target for murder is more than she signed up for.
