Newsletters

December 2025

Happy New Year!
December was a month of eating too much, strangely warm weather, out of town
weekends, exercise challenges, books, lectures and podcasts, new music, painting, art
show applications and gallery/shop/brewery visits and belly laughs.
One of the books I finished was Spring Chicken by Bill Gifford. A book about longevity and aging. It starts by giving history of the stats, studies, experiments and fads about aging. From previous life expectancy rates, changes in society, common causes of mortality, extreme fads, and advice from centenarians on how to stay young. Something’s we know to or not to do,, something’s still need testing, some things are just good advice. Overall a solid read with some good in general information. 

Change of subject.

With my mission to keep expanding and getting my work in front of more people I’ve
been taking every opportunity to learn from other artists, galleries and interviews. 
It seems so obvious, I just need to get my work in front of people who will enjoy it. But
where do I go? That’s the big question. If every artist knew the answer, then
they would just go there and voilà! But there is no formula for knowing how your art will
be appreciated, what will be appreciated and where.. It’s a process of elimination, feedback and trial and error. 
Now to state the obvious again, not all galleries are equal opportunity. For example, a
Gallery that specializes in Western Art targets a specific clientele. They are looking for
cowboys and Indians, wildlife, cabins and trains, not abstract figures and landscapes. So not every gallery and shop will be a proper fit. For either of us. 
But! A lot of times these galleries will have multiple locations featuring different styles of art to meet the demands of that geographic location. So their New York location will feature different art than their Miami and Jackson locations. It’s the same idea of finding appropriate shows.
Newest work
Distant
It felt good to get back into the studio and finish something after a busy fall. This work was inspired by a not-so-distant winter and the oddly warm weather we are having in the southwest. In the painting the view is distant, her expression feels distant and soon, fall will be distant. We get to decide if she is seeing based on our own experiences and stories. Is she seeing the here-and-now, a memory, or is this lense that she views life?
This work was created using an innovative new brush technique I invented (or thought). It changed the game for me. I still used pigment markers and palette knives to blend, soften, create, sharpen and to separate the model, glasses, mountain and trees. As it turns out my invented technique has been in use for 100’s of years and I have just been doing it the hard way this whole time.
Classic!

Looking Forward
Throughout the month I have been submitting applications for art shows in Colorado,
Arizona and New Mexico that  I think would be good fits to show my work. They range in dates starting Spring 2026 and going through the fall. I have a handful of applications going and have options.  I don’t want to jinx myself but I’m pretty excited for this upcoming year. 
Last bit
There has been some overhauls done to the PMtzArt online gallery. Little things that
take time when you are making it yourself, images as buttons, buttons as buttons,
proper formatting for phone view, aesthetics, spelling… Let me know what you think!
Well that’s it for this letter, thanks for taking the time to hear what I’m up to!
PMtz