His canvases are illuminated from within, while creating an overwhelming sense of familiarity, warmth, and innocence in his paintings. His 40 years of experience are delineated in the variety seen in his works.
Growing up as a native New Mexican, and going on family road trips around the state, as a kid, i always had my eyes peeled, taking in all the scenery! This was long before i ever dreamed of putting paint on a canvas!
I’m basically a self-taught artist, working exclusively in oils, for decades. I honestly love to paint, and I’m inspired by the light, landscape, and architecture, especially adobe churches, florals, and of course the skies. The art movement in New Mexico, in the early 1900’s greatly influences me. The Taos society, Los Cinco Pintores, Maynard Dixon, Georgia O’Keeffe, and all the others who visited, are what the southwest is all about.
This has helped me develop a loose impressionistic, painterly style, with a feel for the past, other times i paint with a contemporary flair, both of which satisfy many viewers and collectors.
“The stark reality of nature stirs my need to capture a subject. I want the viewer to experience that same emotion, to which i was drawn. The challenge comes in depicting the subject, to enough of a likeness, that others can share a common feeling, and be drawn in as well.”
Greg Allen was born and raised in New Mexico. Inspired by the mystical terrain of the Southwest, he began to recreate its enchanting forms, light, and architecture. His canvases are illuminated from within, while creating an overwhelming sense of familiarity, warmth, and innocence in his paintings. His 40 years of experience are delineated in the variety seen in his works. Many of his oil paintings possess a distinctively classical composition, while others are imbued with a contemporary painterly surface.
He credits his parents for recognizing his talents at an early age and while growing up in Carlsbad, New Mexico, Greg Allen received instruction from Nora Robertson. Allen also credits painters: Mike Johnson and Joe Ireland for helping him develop his skill and aesthetic vision.
“I am inspired by the paintings of western legends, Maynard Dixon, however I also love the works of early Taos and Santa Fe painters, too, especially Martin Hennings and Walter Ufer. Their work captured so much of what Northern New Mexico and the Southwest is all about,” states Greg Allen.
“The stark reality of nature stirs my need to capture a subject. I want the viewer to experience the same emotion, to which I was drawn. The challenge comes in depicting the subject, to enough of a likeness, that others can share a common or similar feeling, and be drawn in as well.”
He has received accolades and won honors in many juried exhibits, most notably: “Best of Show” El Paso Art Association’s 2012 Arts International “Best of Show” NM Farm & Ranch; Ranch Heritage Museum’s 2005 Show, Las Cruces, NM “Best of Show” Galeria De Senecu Show 2005, El Paso, TX United Way Campaign Poster Artist 2006, El Paso County, TX Permanent Collection, City of El Paso, TX 2013 (2 paintings), 2014 (3 paintings) Permanent Collection, University Medical Center of El Paso, TX 2012 (6 paintings) Permanent Collection, Providence Memorial Hospital of El Paso, TX 1998 Permanent Collection, International Museum of Art, El Paso, TX 2000 Juried into Oil Painters of America, 2015 -2017 .
Greg and his wife Margie, have called El Paso, Texas, there home since home in 1989, where he continues to work and paint everyday. “I spend as much time painting, as I can – it’s my passion,” Greg Allen.
