Meticulous detail is crucial in a small world, said Kim Bell, a noted painter of miniature art. "With miniature art, I've learned over the years that it is quite attractive to have a lot of meticulous details, and so I've challenged myself to get smaller and more detailed every year," she said.
        Miniature art is just one of the shows featured in MasterWorks of New Mexico, one of the state's biggest and most respected art shows. The monthlong exhibition combines art of up to 200 artists from four of New Mexico's major art societies, including Miniature Arts Bardean, Rio Grande Art Association, New Mexico Watercolor Society and the Pastel Society of New Mexico.
        Now in its 13th year, the spring show is one of the few statewide juried ones, making it one of the toughest exhibitions to join. Exclusively for New Mexico artists, the show combines the talents of existing fine-arts organizations, each representing artists from throughout New Mexico.
        "We want to remind people that not only do we have some of the most outstanding art from some of the finest artists in New Mexico, but all of their beautiful works are for sale as well," Masterworks organizer Barbara Lohbeck said, adding that the costs for individual works range from the low hundreds to one work valued at $18,000.
        "The caliber of art that we hang in the show is really hard to beat," Lohbeck said, adding that most of the artists are gallery represented. They're not all necessarily members of the organizations, though most are, she adds.
        In miniature art, it's not the size of the form in the art, but the size of the art in the form. Limited to postcard size, or 5 inches by 7 inches, fine artists who create miniatures use their virtuosity, meticulous skill and constant striving for perfection to create amazingly detailed sparkling gems.
        Good composition, color, balance, fine brushwork — these are all crucial facets of miniature art. "It takes patience and focus," Bell said, noting that one of her works in the show will be a miniature portrait in oil with gold leaf titled "Sara," measuring 2.9 inches by 3.7 inches. It depicts her nephew's girlfriend when she was a University of New Mexico nursing student. She has since graduated. The piece shows not only exquisite gold leaf work surrounding the portrait, but amazing detail, not only in her face and gold-beaded headdress, but in the surrounding frame of roses, leaves and peacock feathers.
        "It can take as long as a bigger piece of art because you have to be more careful, you tend to be more realistic," Bell said. "What I think makes it attractive is that it tends to draw the viewer in very close," she said, adding that she encourages viewers to use a magnifying glass when viewing her work, much of which depict New Mexico people and landscapes.
        A native New Mexican and fine arts graduate of the University of New Mexico, Bell began as an illustrator and graphic artist, and as a crafts artist in jewelry and ceramics. Her work can be seen in the Watermelon Gallery in Cedar Crest.
        Another fine artist featured at the show will be McCreery Jordan, known for her intensely lyrical art in both paintings and multimedia works.
        A Santa Fe resident since 1993, Jordan is an award-winning artist who is skilled in oil, acrylic, encaustic and bronze, and often combines these media, with her works often of billboard size.
        "I was classically trained as a realist painter," Jordan said. "My work is meant to echo my fascination with the passage of time, our journey through it and the complex and fragile layers of our existence."
        Santa Fe artist Paul Murray, an award-winning landscape painter, also will be featured in the show.  Murray said he likes to immerse himself in his paintings to learn something about them and himself. "When I choose what to paint, it is because it can teach me something, either emotionally or spiritually," he said. One of his paintings in the show is of Cape Royal on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where he was artist-in-residence.
        In addition to four separately juried shows, which are hung together after the awarding of ribbons and prizes, the event also features an open house, and artist paint-in on April 17, and other events throughout the month, like workshops, artist demonstrations, educational events and other presentations. Visit www.masterworksnm.org for a list of activities.
        Viewers can find traditional art, like sunsets landscapes and fruit bowls, but also inspired portraits and abstract modern art.  Its diversity is one of the show's greatest strengths, Lohbeck said, along with the availability of fine art for art collectors.  "I think we're probably unique in all that is offered for this kind of show," she said.