Artist and gallery owner Karen Wray with a recent painting at Karen Wray Fine Art Gallery. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com
Karen Wray Fine Arts has truly been all over this town. Wray signed her first lease in October 2008, for a location off Trinity Drive that started out as her studio and grew into a gallery space. That turned out to be a less than optimal location and the gallery moved to 15th and Central. That location proved too small and inconvenient. She closed that location and moved into studio space on Eastgate Drive for three years. It was a great place for a studio and classroom location, but it was too out of the way for a gallery.
“My students were becoming artists who needed a place to show,” Wray said. “We needed another gallery here. We’ve got serious artists here that should be able to show their work in their hometown.”
Wray discovered her current location at 1247 Central, but it took seven months of renovations to get the space in shape to be a gallery. Now the gallery has found the perfect home, Wray said. Located across from the Bradbury Science Museum, the gallery benefits from high tourist traffic and it’s easy for locals to get to, she said.
Since 2010, Wray’s right hand woman, Jean Uher, has been by her side.
“She’s the one who makes the gallery look good!” Wray said. “We feature mostly local artists. Nearly everyone who doesn’t live here has ties to Los Alamos.”
Wray became an artist after a medical condition forced her retirement from Los Alamos National laboratory in 1995.
“My father and grandfather had learned to paint, so I thought, why not, I’ll try painting,” Wray said. “I started with a kit and a video and it was so much fun I started taking classes. Painting makes you feel great and you’re always learning. Painting turned my life around.”
Wray began her career as a teacher in 2010 when her friend Ruth Sherman asked Wray to teach her to paint.
“I didn’t know anything about teaching, so we just jumped in,” Wray said. “She told others and it just grew. I’ve learned to teach much more effectively since then. My absolute beginner classes are for people who’ve never painted before and are scared to try. I try to make it nonjudgmental and not scary. Everyone can learn to paint if they want to work at it. It’s a skill, not magic. Everyone sees things their own way and evolves their own style.”
Wray said that people often think acrylics or watercolor are easier, but actually, oils are more forgiving for a beginner.
“I want my students to get the same pleasure from painting as I do,” Wray said.
During the pandemic, classes are down to three or four people so students can be six feet apart.
“We don’t talk much, and we wear masks at all times,” Wray said. “Everyone has been great about following the rules.”
Wray is hopeful she can conduct larger classes in the spring if the pandemic eases up.
“COVID-19 has had a tremendous effect on the gallery,” she said. “Spring is a good season for us and last March, things just fell off the cliff.”
Luckily, not much scares Karen Wray. She revamped her website so patrons can see all the art and purchase online. Wray will deliver or send off the next day.
“Once things open up, people will start thinking about buying art,” Wray said. “When you feel more optimistic, you feel more like investing in something. I’m switching over artwork by my artists. I want to keep the gallery fresh.”
Even if you can’t buy art right now, Wray suggests switching the art you have around at your home to freshen things up.
“I hope people feel welcome to just come into the gallery, because it makes your day better,” Wray said. “You don’t have to buy something every time. Just come in and be inspired.”
Karen Wray Gallery is at 1247 Central Ave. Suite D-2, next door to the Los Alamos Daily Post. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Reach the gallery at 505.660.6382 or kewray40@comcast.net. Visit the gallery online at karenwrayfineart.com.
‘Rainbow Roses’ a watercolor by Richard Murray with various pottery pieces. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
Adam Baker’s oil painting ‘Desert Deluge’ and metal sculpture ‘Rock Kokopelli’ by David Trujillo at the gallery. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
New works ready to be hung at Karen Wray Fine Art. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
