When you look at Mark White Fine Art from outside the gallery, viewing the sculpture garden, you begin to get the sense that what you are about to experience is truly unique and one of a kind. When you move inside the gallery, your hunch becomes realized.

It is safe to say that the art you find at Mark White Fine Art is both distinctive and cutting edge. Each artist has an inspirational and unique style of three dimensional art using very different mediums. Mark’s kinetic wind sculpture are mesmerizing and inspirational. Together Mark and Ethan’s engraved metal paintings are bold and breathtaking. Charles’ sculptural paintings combine found items with acrylic paint to create a new timeless piece. Conrad’s bold style illustrates how each of our artists pushes the envelope with their work in order to capture the beauty they seek to express. And their passion is clearly reflected in every piece they create and only serves to enhance the enjoyment of the viewer.

Mark White - The Presence

Mark’s experience with kinetic wind sculptures spans twenty years, making him a leader in innovation, functionality, and design. All throughout his career he has let his muse guide him. “My creation process is serendipitous, following a certain line of experimentation without clinging to a known hypothesis,” he says. “This process guides my art in many directions.”

Ethan White - Arabesque

Throughout his dance career, Ethan has been painting and sculpting, knowing that one day he would transition from dancer to visual artist. He is strengthening his voice as a visual artist, and the focus for his work currently is on transferring his study of human movement onto metal.

Charles Veilleux - Pieces of The Heart

As an artist, Charles’ paintings have been evolving for almost three decades becoming more textural and being referred to as sculptural paintings. These works of art are connected to the relief sculpture technique using acrylic paint, organic materials, and man-made objects. Once he has finished a piece it can have up to 40 layers of materials.

Conrad Kern - Mystic Window

Conrad’s work brings an ingenious radiance to the gallery. His intention is for the viewer to experience the overall sense of calm his work evokes from him during his unique process of layering paint and varnishes. He seeks to create magical or mystical reflective pools of color that might be a journey deep into the eyes of the artist, a faraway place of tranquility or a hidden lagoon still with the first rays of light of a new day.

With the work of all four of our artists in both public and private collections around the world, it is clear that the bold way in which they express themselves appeals to a great many people. It is our passion to get to share each of their visions with you so that you too can enjoy them.

One of the new ways in which we are bringing our art and our passion to you this year is with our online auction, set to begin February 20th and running through March 4th. The details will be coming soon so be sure to follow our blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages as this is an event you will not want to miss!

As we finish saying goodbye to 2011 and turn our sights fully onto 2012, we are preparing for the first big event on this year’s calendar- ArtFeast. It is one of our favorite events as it combines two of the best things that Santa Fe has to offer, our world class cuisine and fine art. And what is even better, it supports a great cause!

This year’s event is slated for February 24-26. The weekend’s events include the Art of Fashion runway show, the Edible Art tour, the Art of Home tour, and the gala Gourmet Dinner and Auction. We are very excited to once again be participating in the Edible Art Tour, being held the evening of the 24th. We will be partnering with Blue Corn Café, which is preparing some wonderful dishes not on their regular menu and pairing them with selections from their hand-crafted beers. In addition both Charles Veilleux and Mark White are donating pieces for the auction on Friday night.

Now in its 15th year, ArtFeast is the primary fundraising project of ArtSmart, a local non-profit organization dedicating to assisting children with their own creative pursuits. Their mission statement: “ARTsmart ensures that Santa Fe and New Mexico youth have the opportunity to explore, experience and engage in the visual arts, a critical component of every student’s education.”

You can purchase tickets now by going to ArtFeast’s website at http://artfeast.com/artfeast-events/. For questions about the Edible Art Tour, please feel free to call us here at the gallery at 505-982-2073.

When it comes to fine artists, there are probably few who spent their teenage and college years rock climbing, guiding river rafting trips, and playing rugby. There are probably few who ever made the transition from rugby playing outdoorsman to award winning principal ballet dancer. And there are probably fewer still who continue to dance professionally, create fine art, and write children’s books. We only know of one, Ethan White.

The multi-talented and multi-disciplined Ethan is simply living one of the earlier life lessons he learned from his father, Mark. When Ethan was a boy, Mark courageously moved the family from Southern Illinois to the mountains of Colorado to pursue his passion and become an artist. This had a profound impact on Ethan and he says, “I learned that you really could create the life you want.” The move also helped Ethan develop a healthy sense of adventure, something which is also reflected the many layers of his artistic pursuits.

Ethan hadn’t always considered the art world to be his calling. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1999 from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, he was planning on attending medical school or graduate school to study cognitive neuroscience. But during his sophomore year he took a ballet class to improve his rock climbing and also at the suggestion of his rugby coach as a way to improve his agility. The spark was immediate for Ethan and he began studying ballet in the evenings after his school schedule let out.

After graduation, when it was time to take the entrance exams for medical and graduate schools, Ethan took a different route. He says, “I wasn’t finished dancing yet.” He auditioned and was hired as an apprentice with Ballet Austin. From there he spent time dancing with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the Oakland Ballet, and the Smuin Ballet.

While still dancing with Smuin, and with his wife Nikki, Ethan created Urban Art Farm, a multi-disciplinary arts organization which allocates space for the creation of dance, visual art, and music. The organization also hosts informal performances, fundraisers, and community gatherings.

Ethan and Nikki have also created White Tree Fine Art as a way to bring together and share their talents as choreographers, performers, and visual artists. It was as White Tree Fine Art that they recently competed on Paula Abdul’s reality TV show ‘Live to Dance.’ Out of thousands of entrants they finished in third place, appearing on every episode of the show.

Together, Ethan and Nikki have also created Prima the Ballerina, a series of children’s books which shares their passion for dance, and which they hope will influence future generations of dancers. The first book in the series, Prima the Ballerina In Her Backyard, has just been released and is available for purchase online at www.primatheballerina.com, and here at Mark White Fine Art.

As if that isn’t enough, Ethan has also been creating sculpture art of his own. Throughout his dance career he has been painting and sculpting, knowing that one day he would transition from dancer to visual artist. He is finding his voice as a visual artist, and the focus for his work currently is on transferring his study of form movement onto metal. He is currently shown here at Mark White Fine Art, Classic Art Gallery in California and by Urban Art Farm. We invite you to come in and experience the fine art of Ethan White.

The holidays in Santa Fe are a popular time of year for many to come and visit. The traditions, the landscape, the culture, the food, and the art all make for a wonderful experience. So much so, that the final two weeks on the calendar are two of the busiest tourism weeks in the City Different, year in and year out.

As we’ve spoken about here on our blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter, one of the most popular and cherished traditions each year during the holidays is the Christmas Eve Farolito Walk, held right here on Canyon Road. We had a great time again at this year’s event. It is always great to see and mingle with so many people. We get to reconnect with many of our friends along with making new ones.

After the Farolito Walk is over, Canyon Road is still a great place to spend a day or an afternoon. All of the galleries go out of their way to spread the holiday cheer with decorations and lighting. Plus being an art mecca with over 100 galleries, Canyon Road is one of the best places in the country to see the best in contemporary, Southwest, Native American, and fine art. You certainly can’t miss us, as we are the gallery with the bevy of kinetic wind sculptures out front in our garden. To learn more about Canyon Road and all that it has to offer, visit The Canyon Road Merchant’s Association website at www.experiencecanyonroad.com.

For all of you foodies, Santa Fe also boasts one of the best collections of restaurants, cafes, and diners in the country. Trip Advisor recently name Santa Fe one of the Top 10 Food & Wine Destinations in the United States (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60958-Santa_Fe_New_Mexico-Vacations.html). If it is fine dining you are looking forward, check out Coyote Café, Geronimo, and El Meson. If you prefer casual fare, The Shed and Jambo Café are two of the best in town. And for breakfast, you won’t go wrong with Tecolote, Tia Sophia’s, or the Plaza Café Southside.

If you enjoy the outdoors during winter, the Santa Fe Ski Basin offers 660 acres of stunning terrain, 73 trails, and daily ski and snowboard instruction, along with two restaurants. With all of the snowfall we have been getting so far this winter, it is already some of the best conditions the mountain has seen in the past several years. And being just a short drive from downtown Santa Fe, Ski Santa Fe offers the best getaway day that is not that far away. For information on trail conditions or prices on ski passes, visit the Ski Santa Fe website at www.skisantafe.com.

Your winter getaway to Santa Fe wouldn’t be complete without beautiful accommodations. With 60 hotels, 47 Bed & Breakfasts, and 227 vacation rentals in town, you have plenty of options to have a rich, relaxing, and comfortable vacation.

Whether you visit before or after the holidays, we hope that you have a great stay while you are here. Santa Fe has a great to deal to offer, and is sure to give you a truly unique experience. Happy Holidays!

Meet Prima! She is a young girl who is just learning how to dance. In her first adventure, Prima the Ballerina in Her Backyard, she learns movement and dance from some of her animal friends. She spends the day learning moves from various animals, including butterflies, snakes, and even a bunny rabbit. She dances and plays with them, completely immersed in the world of her friends.

Prima the Ballerina is the co-creation of Nikki and Ethan White. Nikki says, “Prima is an expressive young girl, with a wonderful imagination, a curious nature, and a big heart. She finds the dance in every movement, the games in everyday activities, and the joy that comes with self-expression.”

A native of Montana, Nikki has been dancing ever since she was a little girl. She grew up assisting her mother at her dance studio and has long had a passion for teaching. When she first began teaching she wanted to incorporate fun games that would help her students with not only their technique but also their enjoyment of dance. Unable to find anything that suited her style of teaching, she began to create games and songs of her own and introduced them to her students.

The results were so overwhelmingly positive that fellow teachers began asking her for games to play with their students. Likewise, parents were very curious as to how Nikki was able to have her students be totally absorbed in class while having fun. Wanting to share her lessons with her students, parents, and fellow teachers and allow them to have access whenever they liked, Nikki created a character children could identify with. This was how Prima was born.

Ethan sculpted Prima from clay. She has fully articulating joints which allows her the same range of motion as a real dancer. Nikki points out, “She demonstrates functional alignment and ideal ballet positions.”

Just as there is in her own dancing, Nikki has put a unique humanity and accessibility into Prima’s story. It is Nikki’s goal to reach children around the world with Prima, wanting to impart the creativity and joy inherent in dance and creative movement. And it is her desire that parents will join in the fun, hoping that they too will dance and express themselves alongside their children.

To help bring that goal into reality, you can have Nikki come to your school to teach and perform. To witness Nikki with a classroom full of 20 five year olds is to see what many moms have described as a miracle.

Recently, she traveled to Billings, Montana and taught a pre-ballet/creative movement class to a group of young dancers ages 3-7 years old. The parents and teachers were invited to sit in, watch, take pictures and videos, and see how to incorporate the Prima books into classes and playtime. If you are interested your own class, please contact Nikki at bookings@primatheballerina.com.

Along with authoring the story of Prima, Nikki and Ethan are still creating and performing. They were recently on Paula Abdul’s reality dance show ‘Live to Dance’. They followed that up with a first place finish in the Cabaret Division at the U.S. Open Swing Competition in Los Angeles. For more information on them and their creative pursuits, visit www.whitetreefineart.com.

To learn more about Prima the Ballerina, watch instructional videos by Nikki, watch testimonials and more please visit the Prima the Ballerina website, http://primatheballerina.com

Finally we are excited to let you know that you can buy your copy of Prima the Ballerina- In Her Backyard here at Mark White Fine Art. It is on sale now and makes the perfect holiday gift! Make sure to stop in on Christmas Eve, Nikki will be here at Mark White Fine Art signing her Prima the Ballerina books for one night only.

Conrad Kern - Mystic Window

Conrad Kern’s work brings an ingenious radiance to the Mark White Fine Art collection. Although a fresh presence on the Santa Fe art scene, Conrad has been immersed in the world of art from a young age. Early on in his schooling he was recognized as being artistically talented, and from there he attended magnet and gifted schools for the arts.

Being the son of military parents, Conrad has had the good fortune of travelling the world. From the experience of these travels he has gained great inspiration for his work. Conrad’s painting allows him to explore the world through a different lens and act as a vehicle for his spiritual development.

Conrad’s unique process of layering paint and varnishes evokes an overall sense of calm during the creation, and it is his intention for the viewer to experience the same feelings. He seeks to create magical or mystical reflective pools of color that might be a journey deep into the eyes of the artist, a faraway place of tranquility or a hidden lagoon still with the first rays of light of a new day. Just like a sunrise, this needs to be seen in person, so do when you come into Mark White Fine Art Gallery.