November Guest Artist Reception and Moab Artwalk

Margi Lucena knew by age 6 that she wanted to be an artist. She was exposed to art early in life, watching her father paint at his easel. Coming along with him at times to his job as a lifeguard at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, Calif., she would spend the day on the pier and watch a woman she knew as "Mrs. Hess", painting seascapes , portraits, and passersby.

The family later moved to Independence, Calif. in the Owens Valley, located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There she was exposed to and influenced by the painting and sculptures of Dorcas Birchim, another woman who made her living with her art.

Getting married, moving to Hawaii, and raising a family , Lucena continued with her art , but , not until 1990, when she and her husband , Dado, moved to Oklahoma , did she make painting her full time pursuit, winning honors in various art events. Later came moves to Arkansas, and finally to San Antonio, New Mexico in 2002, where Lucena resides today .

In 2003 Lucena joined as part owner of Fullingim, Isenhour and Leard Galleries, later Curious Crow Gallery, in Socorro, NM. She painted and demonstrated there through 2013. During these years, She gained representation in the Selby Fleetwood Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, Cobalt Fine Art Gallery in Tubac , AZ, and RSHanna Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX. For the years 2012 and 2013, Lucena was also an Artist in Residence at the historic Inn at Loretto in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Lucena's impressionistic and representational style of painting comes from a love of the landscape , which has grown tenfold since moving to New Mexico. The beautiful land, diverse culture, and simplicity of life in general has influenced her art in many ways. She paints en plein air, and in her San Antonio studio full time. Lucena is also teaching workshops, with emphasis on working with pastels on applied textured surfaces.