Submitted by Carole Eagleheart
Beth Waldron loves crows. She feeds them peanuts at her home in Corrales and they appear in her paintings, splashed with bold colors.
Waldron is one of 34 local artists featured at the third annual Enchanted Vision Art Show this weekend at the Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation in Rio Rancho.
“I spend a lot of time on the eyes,” she said. “They’re usually looking straight out at you. It’s like they’re saying ‘We’re watching.’”
Waldron has three paintings in the Enchanted Vision Art Show, which includes 91 pieces of art, including painting, fiber art, and photography.
The show, located at 1650 Abrazo Rd. in Rio Rancho, opens Nov. 15 from 5-8 p.m., with wine and hors d’oeuvres, and continues on Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5: p.m. Admission is free.
Waldron considers herself a contemporary wildlife artist, not one that focuses on realism. She tries to portray the spirit of wild creatures in her paintings.
“It’s our job to protect them,” Waldron said. “We need to be stewards of the earth.”
Waldron began painting animals when she was only six years old. Her mother still has some of her early work. She started studying art at Virginia Commonwealth University, but veered off into science instead because she was fascinated with geology. She holds a masters in geochemistry from the University of New Mexico.
Despite her fascination with science, Waldron quit her PhD to be an artist.
“Whether it’s painting, running off in the desert with a camera, or photographing people, I love to make art,” Waldron said.
She is not only a painter but a professional photographer, and runs the Beth Waldron Studio.
“I have two studios,” Waldron said, “one at my house for my painting and one for my photography.”
Waldron lives with her geologist husband and two sons in Corrales, where they share space with three Great Danes, a 20-year-old cat, and about a dozen chickens.
She is vice president of the Corrales Society of Artists, and director of the Corrales Art Studio Tour. Waldron can also be found at Ghost Wolf Gallery in Old Town.
Her love of wild creatures leads Waldron to volunteer every week at On a Wing and a Prayer, a bird rehabilitation facility.
“We help to rehab birds and get them out into the wild,” Waldron said.