RONNIE LAYDEN
One of my closest and best friends is Ronnie Layden.
I am amazed at Ronnie's artistic ability. Ronnie comes from a fairly affluent family, but instead of wasting his time torturing waiters at fine restaurants; hanging out at nightclubs feeding a hedonistic appetite or chasing expensive women, Ronnie Layden spends most of his time experiencing and capturing the beauty of nature, either with oil-paints and canvas or with his camera.
Ronnie runs an art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico's famous Canyon Road art district. If you happen to find yourself in Santa Fe, I highly recommend checking out his work. I am sure you will find that Ronnie is a rather interesting character among the Santa Fe locals...
There was a time in my life when I felt envious of Ronnie's Gallery. I sort of felt like it was unfair that a wealthy kid could just buy a commercial art space and call himself an artist.
But after seeing Ronnie's paintings and photographs, the envy faded into admiration for his skill and dedication to his work; his works are truly beautiful and Ronnie worked hard to earn a degree in art, as well as one in architecture.
Having grown up in Santa Fe, I became numb to Southwestern style artwork; Santa Fe is saturated with it and after awhile it all starts to look the same to me, but Ronnie's work is different...I find his abstract-stylized landscape oil paintings to be refreshing and new. He also paints en plein air, but unlike other Southwestern plein air paintings, Ronnie Layden's have a certain timeless essence that I never get tired of looking at.
Ronnie's photographs are engaging and thought provoking. He seems to have a natural gift for choosing just the right moment to snap the shot. I always get a melancholy feeling when I view his photos and I feel they are somehow conveying more than just the visible image...there is a feeling that there is something else going on which isn't immediately apparent to the viewer. Here are some of his photos:
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| Photograph by Ronnie Layden |
If you are planning a trip to Santa Fe, be sure to drop in on Ronnie Layden at 901 Canyon Road: be sure to tell him Dave sent you. He also offers private instruction in oil painting and photography (by appointment only, of course). Here is a link to Ronnie's website, which I help him with from time to time:
Ronnie Layden Fine Art.
