The Aloft Art Gallery in Sonora is excited to feature artist/photographer Jan Alcalde in the window for the month of January 2019.

“After a semester of photography in college, I became smitten with the absolute magic of that latent image emerging on the paper in its chemical bath,” Alcalde explained. “Amazing! I’ve been dabbling in photography ever since.”

The artist went on to explain that with “the encouragement of friends and the skills acquired through Columbia Community College classes in the ’80s, I’ve participated in a variety of local and regional shows. I’ve been slow to transition to the digital darkroom … and I am learning to print all over again.”

Since her retirement from education, Alcalde said she has begun to dabble in watercolor.

“I love its qualities of fluid looseness and relaxed freshness; yet I tend to paint with precise detail … must be a genetic trait inherited from my machinist father,” she noted. “I love to travel, especially in the southwest, and many of my images are from my road trips.”

Her work has received several Best of Show recognitions, various awards from the InFocus show over the years, appeared on the cover and in the calendar of New Mexico Magazine publications, and has been accepted – with some ribbons – in various shows and other publications.

“I’m having great fun playing with pigments, pixels, and prints,” Alcalde said.

Make it a point this month to visit downtown Sonora and be sure to stop by to view the various works by Alcalde in the window. Visitors are also encouraged to head inside the gallery to see all the magnificent artwork available, be it a card for a friend or a painting for your wall.

The Aloft Art Gallery is at 167 S. Washington St., Sonora and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information visit the gallery’s website at http://www.aloftartgallery.com.