Ruth Andrews-Vreeland

Ruth began drawing at an early age and painting in oils at the age of ten, at her childhood home in Fresno, California. She has won numerous fine art and design awards throughout her life and was highly influenced by the west coast artists of Carmel, CA as a teen, taking instruction from some of them in oils and watercolor. An art major in college, Ruth had a lengthy successful career as a graphic designer in her adopted state of New Mexico where she has lived for 38 years. She has painted since childhood, concentrating on oils for many years, but almost completely transitioning over to watercolor, finding it to be an exciting, fast medium in which to work. She is now a frequent top-award winner and Signature Member of the NM Watercolor Society and a Signature Member of the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies. Her work can be found in collections throughout the United States.

   Nancy Goetz

Nancy received her MFA in painting and drawing at the University of New Mexico in 1990.  She has taught painting and drawing at all levels from young beginners to advanced graduate students in university and college programs, community centers and privately.  She was the director of the Painting Department at Colby College in Maine and was on the Board of Trustees for the Colby Art Museum. She both attended and was Dean of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.  Her paintings portray intimate, internal environments of abstract forms that reference the natural world. 

    Pat Marsello

The Art of Brushwork is comprised of three elements. The brush is a magician’s wand, and if handled correctly, can create a world out of thin air. The ink is the blood; it holds the possibility of Ch’I yun, or the living spirit of painting. And the paper is the skin, the texture that accepts the ink and absorbs the energy of the brush. It is the dance between these three, the brush, the ink and the paper guided by the hand and the heart that makes brushwork. 

Peggy Nichols was born and raised in Southern California. She received a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute with continuing education at the University of Southern California –Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. She has studied with contemporary figurative masters, such as Juliette Aristides, Rob Liberace, Steve Huston and Stephen Early.She has taught figurative painting & drawing, portrait painting, intermediate & advanced painting at Saddleback College / Emeritus Institute, in Mission Viejo, CA. Her works have been exhibited through out the US. She is a recipient of the Ludwig Vogelstein Grant and the Vermont Art Center Residency Program. She has been a member of the California Art Club, the West Coast Pastel Society, Women Painters West and the American Society of Oil Painters, to name a few. She is the creator of Studio C Gallery. The gallery is located within the historic Santa Fe Art Colony, in downtown Los Angeles. Studio C Gallery focused primarily on the work of contemporary women artists. Studio C Gallery produced annual exhibition benefit fund-raisers to bring awareness and support for several non-profit organizations, such as L.A. Waterkeeper, Return to Freedom, Wild Horse Sanctuary and Tree People. Ms. Nichols is a new resident of Albuquerque.  She is looking forward to her creative journey ahead, in this resplendent state of New Mexico.

  Michael Ottersen

Michael Ottersen was born in Massapequa, Long Island in 1956 and spent most of his youth in Norwalk, Connecticut. He attended Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and spent three semesters studying in Rome in Tyler's overseas program. He later moved to New York City where he lived and worked for twelve years in magazine production and design, for publications such as Artforum, Art News, and Metropolis, while maintaining a studio and art career and beginning an exhibition history. In 1992 Michael moved to New Mexico where he worked in book design and illustration while still pursuing a fine art career. Later relocating to Seattle, Washington, Michael began teaching at various schools and colleges in the Pacific Northwest for the next nineteen years which included the Gage Academy of Art, Pratt Fine Art Center, the Northwest College of Art and Design and Kirkland Art Center. Recently returning to New Mexico, he continues to teach classes at The New Mexico Art League. His work is represented in Seattle at Season Gallery.

  Rachel Popowcer

Originally from the east coast, Rachel Popowcer is a mixed media oil painter who received her BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh and her MFA at UNM. She has exhibited her work extensively, and has participated in artist residencies such as the Vermont Studio Center. Her recent paintings and photographic works focus on color, composition, and symbolic imagery, to deal with the chaos and boundaries inherent in everyday life. Rachel is currently adjunct art faculty at CNM and also teaches private painting workshops; other positions have included the UNM Art Department, UNM's Continuing Education Program, The Harwood Art Center, The Albuquerque Museum, OASIS, and more.

Coulter Prehm

Coulter (Colt) Prehm (b. 1984) is a painter and draftsman who studied art with many of the top contemporary painters of the day though the bulk of his study has been with Tony Ryder who is a dear friend, teacher and mentor. His work has been displayed at galleries across the US and has been featured in numerous publications in the United States, Europe and Canada. Colt also operates the non-profit, Renaissance Life, offering free, full-length art tutorial videos and other resources to the public. Coulter resides in Santa Fe, NM with his wife, Liz.See RenaissanceLifeNow.com for FREE RESOURCES or CoulterPrehm.com for more information and portfolios. 

  John Reger

John was born in Illinois in 1960, and worked for more than 20 years as an illustrator. John attended classes in Chicago; at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, The Vitruvian Fine Art Studio, and in 2007, enrolled at Studio Escalier; a private art school and international arts colony in Argenton-Chateau, France, where he completed his initial classical training with instructors Timothy Stotz and N. Michelle Tully, and met their instructor Ted Seth Jacobs. While at Studio Escalier, John learned that Anthony Ryder had also been Mr. Jacob’s student, and had a classical drawing and painting atelier in USA.  John subsequently applied for and was accepted at The Ryder Studio School in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2008. John continues to perfect his technique, form, and color, and in 2012, was honored to be chosen as the Teaching Assistant at the Ryder Studio School, and remains on the faculty there. John teaches workshops in Texas, California, and Oklahoma. He lives with his wife in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

  Mita Saldana

A Chicago native, Mita Saldana received her BA from Columbia College Chicago where she developed her jewelry making skills as a silversmith. After many years of working with the rigid and hard materials of her craft she discovered the softness and give of paper and everything changed. Returning to Columbia College’s brand new Book and Paper department she continued her education in the book arts. Mita moved to New Mexico and opened Against the Grain Center for Bookbinding. For over 23 years she has been repairing and restoring used and rare books, creating small editions, and teaching people how to make books, boxes and the related arts. In the past she has taught regularly at The Hispanic Cultural Center, Santa Fe Community College, The Harwood Art Center, Albuquerque Academy, and private studios and numerous retail locations across the state. Her work has been exhibited in both Illinois and New Mexico and she is one of the founding members of Libros: New Mexico Book Arts Guild. 

  Mary Sundstrom 

A Minnesota native, Mary Sundstrom attended college at the University of New Mexico where she graduated with a Fine Arts degree in printmaking. Her experience encompasses art instructor, printer/collaborator, printmaker, with 40+ years exhibiting her work around the country, book illustrator with 17 children's book titles and an Audubon field guide series as well as numerous exhibit illustrations for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Mary had been a 10 year member and instructor at New Grounds Printshop in Albuquerque which she and three partners recently purchased and are the proud new owners of Remarque Print Workshop LLC.

2020 Visiting Faculty

Frank Eber

Frank grew up in Europe and was mentored by Italian master painter Renato Casaro in 1994 and 95. In the ’80s and ’90s Frank worked as a professional illustrator for video cover sleeves and as a portrait artist by commission. He strives to create timeless art in both oil and watermedia and works in a direct, loose style influenced by the Old World Masters. His love of travel has given him prime opportunities to paint: he lived for three years in the south of France, and has painted on location in many countries around the world. He is also an accomplished Portrait painter. Frank is an award-winning watercolor artist and Signature member of the American Watercolor Society (AWS), the National Watercolor Society (NWS) and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA). He is a juried Artist member of the prestigious California Art Club.

Past Visiting Faculty

Kerry Dunn

Born in 1976, Kerry Dunn began drawing at the early age of five when sitting on his fathers' lap he watched his Dad doodle a sketch. In 1999 he graduated from Ringling School of Art and Design with a major in illustration. Dunn later moved to New York City to attend the famed Art Students League of NY in search of a teacher. During his time there he met Nelson Shanks, an internationally renowned portrait painter. Later that year he was invited by Mr. Shanks to move to Philadelphia to be a part of the new painting school that Shanks was opening. Studio Incamminati, a school of traditional drawing and painting methods. Mr. Dunn now lives and works in Philadelphia and teaches at Studio Incamminati as part of the core faculty and travels the county teaching his own workshops. Many of Mr. Dunn's current works are available at Haynes Gallery.

Sterling Edwards

Sterling began teaching his style of painting in 1993. His workshops are attended by hundreds of people annually in the U.S. and Canada. In 2001 he was featured artist in Watercolor Magic Magazine. In 2007 he was awarded signature member status in the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor and designed a signature set of brushes and a watecolor palette that are marketed internationally. In 2010 he was awarded signature membership status in the esteemed Transparent Watercolor Society of America. He is the author of the North Light book, "Creating Luminous Watercolor Landscapes: A Four Step Process," and is a contributing artist in numerous other publications. His paintings are in private collections throughout the    world. 

Dawn Emerson

Dawn is an inspiring and generous teacher who is passionate about encouraging each person to find their own unique way of using the pastel medium to express themselves. She creates a culture of sharing and joyful exploration in each workshop that encourages each person to take risks, to constructively self-critique their work, and to identify meaningful themes to pursue in their art. Dawn is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, a respected art judge and juror, author of Pastel Innovations, and has made 6 instructional videos. Her work is known for its powerful energy and expressive way of combining realism with abstraction.

Albert Handell

Albert Handell was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1937. He began formal studies of drawing and anatomy at sixteen. In 1954, he enrolled at the Art Students League of New York City to study drawing and anatomy with the late Louis Priscilla and the late Robert Ward Johnson, and later studied with Frank Mason. From 1961 to 1965, Albert lived and traveled in Europe. In Paris, he painted independently in his own studio, working from the model at L'Ecole de la Grande Chaumiere and at the Louvre, copying old masters. Since 1961, he has had over thirty one-man shows and has received over seventy prizes and awards. He now exhibits with the Ventana Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe, where since 1987, he has had annual one-man shows. He lives and paints in Santa Fe, and teaches nationally and internationally. www.alberthandell.com 

Jan Denton

Jan Denton is an award-winning botanical watercolor painter. She has received a number of commissions for her work, and is an active member of the American Society of Botanical Artists. Jan has a BA in Fine Arts from California State University, and a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration from the Corcoran College of Art + Design and the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. In 2006 she co-produced “Botanical Treasures of Lewis & Clark,” an exhibit of original works displayed at the Corcoran Gallery. Shortly after moving to Santa Fe from DC in 2007, Jan began teaching classes on “Painting in the Style of O’Keeffe” for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Her many private collectors include Jamie and Phyllis Wyeth. Her work can be viewed online at www.jandenton.com. 

Teresa Oaxaca

Teresa Oaxaca is an American born artist based currently in Washington D.C. She is a full time painter whose works can be seen in collections and galleries throughout the US and internationally. Her talent has been recognized and rewarded by museums and institutions such as the American Museum of the Cowboy, The former Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Art Renewal Center, The Elisabeth Greenshields Foundation, the Posey Foundation, and The Portrait Society of America and the Museu Europeu D’Art Modern in Barcelona. Her training includes a four-year diploma at the Angel Academy of Art (Florence Italy, Graduate studies at the Florence Academy, an Apprenticeship with Odd Nerdrum in Norway, and studies at the Art League of Alexandria VA where she trained with Robert Liberace, Paul Lucchesi, and took many other courses. Currently she teaches workshops around the United States and in Europe.