About the Artist:
Artist at home
 

   A privilege, a delight, and a daily challenge, Sam Hughes' art career has resulted from following his interests wherever they might lead.  In childhood he sketched avidly. At Rice University, in addition to a well- rounded liberal arts education, he studied architecture and drawing.  In 1968 he obtained a masters degree in art history at Columbia University, then taught the subject for two years at University of Georgia.  In 1973, he received a masters degree in architecture at Harvard University, then worked in architectural offices for ten years.  In 1986, he made a commitment to painting and since that time he has produced and sold more than six hundred paintings.
< left:  The artist at home.  Sam Hughes, Spring 2005. >
   In 1986 a move to Northwestern New Mexico assured Sam of plenty of subject matter for painting. There were sixteen national parks and monuments within a four-hour drive of his home.  Shiprock became his first love, followed by Canyon de Chelly.  Few experiences, he believes, can match sitting on the edge of that canyon, painting a panorama on a perfect summer day.  Photography provides a means of working without inordinate travel time and despite impossible weather. Sam has built up a file of thousands of his own photos from which he works.

   Between 1988 and 1991, Sam taught part-time at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, adding drawing, basic design, and watercolor to the art history courses he taught. Between 1991 and 1993, Sam lived in the southeast, where historic homes amid giant oaks and shrimp boats tied at docks, replaced canyons and mountains for subject matter. Since 1993, he has made his home in Northeastern New Mexico.

   Though best known for his realistic paintings, Sam believes these are just part of a spectrum of possibilities.  While at Columbia he took the course in modern art by legendary professor Meyer Schapiro, and has never been the same since.  He realizes that artistic styles relate to what message an artist is trying to convey.  A message may be about something not seen on earth, or about the language of form.  In his own art, he has explored the further possibilities of surrealism and cubism to embody utopian visions and allegories of the human condition, and to delight in a world of line and space accessible only in illusion.

  Sam paints in oil or watercolor, and produces drawings in many media.  He has participated in numerous art fairs, particularly in Florida, New Mexico, and Colorado. His work can be seen at Old Pass Gallery, Raton, New Mexico, Leaping Lizard Gallery, Trinidad, Colorado, and the Buffalo Nickel Gallery, Cimarron, New Mexico.
Upcoming Exhibitions:
April 17-30, 2005
"Sam Hughes' Southwest"
Old Pass Gallery, Raton
145 South First Street
Raton, New Mexico
505-445-2052
for information:  ratonarts@bacavalley.com

September 20-24, 2005
New Mexico State Fair
Manuel Lujan Building
Albuquerque, New Mexico

You are also encouraged to contact the artist directly: 
SamHughes@zianet.com




Sam Hughes, Artist   Updated 3 April 2005   
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