TASHJIAN DONATES PAINTING
University of New Mexico-Los Alamos adds “Chamisa” to its collection
Los Alamos Monitor (New Mexico) _www.lamonitor.com_
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February 10, 2005
Armenian-American painter Richard Tashjian has had a warm welcome in
New Mexico in the seven years since his arrival.
Along with spotlights in regional publications like Cowboys & Indians
and Focus Santa Fe, he has been part of several group shows throughout
north-central New Mexico and is currently represented by Editions
Gallery in Santa Fe and Wilder Nightingale Gallery in Taos.
“I feel fortunate,” said Tashjian, a native of Massachusetts.
“A lot of artists come here expecting to be successful, but a lot of
them aren’t. For him, success is measured by the happiness he achieves
through painting.
Recently, Tashjian donated the oil painting titled “Chamisa” to the
University of New Mexico-Los Alamos.
It is a bright and jovial piece, much like Tashjian’s own personality.
Chamisa refers to the centerpiece of the painting, a common desert
shrub with hundreds of Lilliputian yellow flowers.
As a backdrop to the orange colors of the desert scene are the Jemez
Mountains, crowned with a majestic blue sky.
“I thought it would be a good gift to give,” Tashjian said.
The painting was gratefully accepted as part of UNM-Los Alamos’
permanent art collection.
Tashjian also enjoyed success in his home state, Massachusetts,
both as an artist and in his career in advertising art.
He is part of many permanent art collections in Massachusetts, the
country of Armenia, Washington, DC and now New Mexico. He created the
Armenian Artists Association of America and between 1979 and 1990,
traveled frequently to Armenia to organize shows. In 1990 he was
invited to the 100th anniversary dedication for the Russian-Armenian
marine painter, Hovhaness Aivazovsky in Crimea, Russia. He was also
listed in the German Artistic Encyclopedia:Cultural Artist of All
Times and Nation.
Tashjian describes his latest paintings around the Jemez Mountains,
and the areas around Taos and Nambe’ as colorful. He hopes to exhibit
these lastest works in the spring.
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