D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
March 2010
Our Cover Artist
After 32 years in Alamogordo, Penny Thomas Simpson recently moved to Las Cruces and a studio in an old adobe house with views of the Organ Mountains. She's arrived with a bit of a bang, including a new exhibit opening March 7 at the Tombaugh Gallery, a talk March 14 to the Southern Chapter of the New Mexico Watercolor Society, and of course the cover of this month's Desert Exposure.
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Simpson studied graphic design at Prairie State College in Illinois, but illustration was her main focus. She opened her studio/gallery Penny Artworks in Alamogordo in 1985 and has since won numerous awards both locally and nationally; her work is often included in the Fine Art Gallery at the State Fair. A well-known piece is her life-size entry in the Trail of the Painted Pony, "Appleoosa," which is on display at the Eagle Ranch Gallery between Alamogordo and Tularosa and which was made into a collectable miniature. Weem's Gallery in Albuquerque features her paintings in its gallery as well as in a yearly booth in Weem's International ArtFest.
"Colored pencil was my preferred medium for many years, but the discovery of 300-pound Arches watercolor paper changed my artistic life," Simpson says. Now she works primarily in watercolors, while still also using acrylics and colored pencils. She adds, "I get the most pleasure creating still-life and floral work with dramatic lighting."
The exhibit of her works at the Tombaugh Gallery of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces opens with a reception on Sunday, March 7, 12-2 p.m., and continues through April 2. Regular gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 2000 S. Solano, 522-7281, www.uuchurchlc.org
The New Mexico Watercolor Society, Southern Chapter, will meet on Sunday, March 14, at 2 p.m., at Good Sam's, 3011 Buena Vida Circle. After a brief business meeting, Simpson will talk about and demonstrate her watercolor technique that produces her trademark black background and luminescent subjects. The public is welcome and there is no charge. For more information, contact Marie Siegrist, 647-1193.
For more on Simpson's work or to arrange a tour of her studio, contact her at 921-4028, pennytsimpson@msn.com or see www.pennyartworks.com