Board of Directors

DAN CONKLIN, President

Dan grew up in Albuquerque, but career opportunities ultimately drew him to the “big city". He has been an inveterate doodler and drawer from an early age, and over time attempted to smooth the rough edges with studio courses in sculpture, ceramics and acrylic painting at Vanderbilt, UCLA and the Art Student’s League in NYC. After living and working in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai, he returned to the Land of Green Chile and picked up his art studies in early 2012 with an acrylic workshop taught by Angus Macpherson. He amazed everyone with the fact that his paints from his UCLA days were still good. Later that year, he attended a demo at the New Mexico Art League given by “Local Treasure” J. Waid Griffin. Landscape in Oil courses with Waid soon followed. With momentum building, Dan became arguably the Art League’s best customer with further landscape classes taught by Tom Blazier and Jeff Otis. His focus broadened to portrait and the figure, which gave him the pleasure of paint and drawing under the guidance of Cynthia Rowland, MJ Manford, Shana Levinson and Leo Neufeld.  He has been most inspired by Cynthia Rowland, though her deep and contagious love of art and superb instruction. Recognizing the need to keep honing the basic skills of making art, Dan has most recently benefitted from the lively and fundamentals-focused teaching of Vasili Katakis. His perspectives classes are not to be missed.

BRIGID CONKLIN, Vice President

Brigid grew up in the Chicago area surrounded by art. Before she was school age, she accompanied her mother on the local art league's plein air outings and no family visit to Chicago was complete without a trip to the Art Institute. While she has always loved art, she had had no art instruction since she was a girl until she enrolled in a beginning drawing class at the New Mexico Art League in 2013. She has taken classes at the Art League ever since. Brigid has a background in corporate banking and has served on advisory committees for a charity and for an international school while living in Shanghai, China. She is a member of the Pastel Society of New Mexico and is excited to be involved with the Art League.

JUDITH WAGNER, Treasurer

A New Mexico native, Judy has been a longtime friend, member and student at the New Mexico Art League. A very accomplished painter herself, Judy shows her work regularly in local arts organization shows including many of the Art League's exhibitions. Her impressive professional career began after she received her BSc degree in Mathematics at the University of New Mexico and and completed post graduate work in accounting at the Robert O. Anderson School of Management, also at UNM. A CPA (Retired), Judy's broad range of expertise lead her to work with state and federal courts as an expert in  Financial Forensics and she was often invited to speak to universities, state agencies and professional organizations presenting topics such as Ethical Decision Making and Governance. Judy was recognized for her remarkable work in 2009 and received the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award in Washington DC. She is a recipient of the New Mexico Ethics in Business award for individual excellence in Ethics. She has served on several nonprofit and professional organization boards of directors, and has recently joined our team at the New Mexico Art League bringing her years of experience and expertise to advise and guide the Art League as it continues to grow and evolve. Oh

CASANDRA ENCINIAS

Casandra Encinias is a native New Mexican with who's been a part of the artist community in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and the East Mountains since the late 1970s.  From being a full time artist in Santa Fe in the 80s to taking classes in Albuquerque throughout the 2000's, Casandra has always come back to portraiture. After working in state government for 26 years Casandra retired in 2010 and now devotes her time fully to her art and also to her very active Australian sheepherder named Zulie. She lives with her husband John in Tijeras.  

MIKE BUSTAMANTE

Mike Bustamante is a native New Mexican with family roots extending to the earliest Spanish colonial times.  Raised in Grants, New Mexico pumping gas at the family service station on Route 66, he graduated from UNM School of Law in 1974 and went into private practice with the law firm of Ortega & Snead.  After twenty years of practice he was appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals where he served for twenty two years.  Now retired from the Court, he continues to serve as a pro tem judge with his old Court and the New Mexico Supreme Court as well arbitrate cases on a private basis. He volunteers as much time as possible to State Bar activities.  And he is a docent at the Albuquerque Museum of Art.

CAROYLN BERRY

Carolyn Berry has been passionate about teaching art for over 25 years. As a public school teacher, she has been named Outstanding Kansas Educator of the Year and has taught workshops for the Kansas City Art Institute Continuing Education, the Nelson Atkins Museum, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts and various art centers. Working primarily with collage, photography and encaustic wax, her encaustic mixed media work can be seen in the recent North Light Book publications, Incite3 and Incite 4. She maintains a studio and exhibits in the Albuquerque, NM area. Carolyn's work can be found in collections throughout the United States.

Art League Champion

and Former Board President

CYNTHIA ROWLAND

Art League Staff