Vista Grande Public Library welcomes back two Eldorado favorites for the June 2025 art exhibits: Greg Cohen and Selene Sinclair.

In the 2D space, Greg will show his acrylic paintings that are guaranteed to bring a smile. Greg is a published novelist, musician, photographer, and, most recently, a self-taught acrylic artist. He began learning to paint in 2013 by using some of his favorite photographs from global travels, selecting them as exercises in basic benchmark subjects: portrait, landscape, human figures, and still life.

His original paintings range from figurative to whimsical and depict a variety of subjects, but his goal is always to make the viewer smile. The disciplines of music, fiction writing, photography -- and now painting -- all work in concert for him, each supporting and inspiring all of his creative endeavors.

Two of Greg’s paintings were selected from more than 900 entries for display in the East End Arts Annual National Juried Art Competition & Exhibition in Long Island, NY in 2017.
Greg’s paintings have also been accepted into the prestigious juried Corrales NM Old Church Art Show in 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024. His photographs were accepted into the same show in 2022 and most recently he was one of two featured guest artists in a juried show at the Madison & Main gallery in Greeley, Colorado. Additionally, he’s shown in the Eldorado Studio Tour in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024.

In the 3D space, we have Selene Sinclair whose June exhibit will feature helmets and handmade books. Selene attributes her fascination with children’s books to her long career as an elementary-school librarian. Especially enamored of pop-up books, her journey in book making focuses on the use of unusual forms, especially found objects from flags to boxes. She finds that all manner of objects can be turned into stories without words, such as little cabinets that become dioramas with stories tucked into the drawers. “There is no end to what can be done with paste paper and collected objects,” she laughs. Sometimes Sinclair will use a guillotine to chop up thick, bound books and include the open pages in her creations. Sinclair also teaches art classes at the Eldorado Senior Center.

As always, a portion of sales proceeds from the exhibits benefits VGPL, Southwestern Santa Fe County’s independent, nonprofit library.