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As the big white tent unfurls across the Sandia Resort & Casino, 200 artists鈥� booths beckon visitors to the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival.

Now in its 34th year, the show runs on two weekends, from Friday, Oct. 4, to Sunday, Oct. 6, and from Oct. 11 to Oct. 13.

Shoppers and browsers will find everything from pottery and paintings to jewelry and textiles. Expect live music, cocktails, a culinary market, food vendors and entertainment for kids.

Arts of enchantment: Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival showcases 200 artists over two weekends

Festival organizers chose Santa Fe鈥檚 Tony Thielen as this year鈥檚 poster artist.

A 14th generation New Mexican, Thielen鈥檚 career wound a convoluted route before he became a professional artist. Born and raised in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, the child of military parents, he spent active duty with the Army for four years before studying for an international business degree in New York.

鈥淚 always wanted to be creative; I always wanted to be an artist,鈥� Thielen said. 鈥淢y family didn鈥檛 exactly support the idea of me being a starving artist.鈥�

He later attended the Art Institute of Seattle and worked as a graphic designer for 20 years.

Around 2014, he started attending online art classes and workshops, including the California-based Watts鈥� Atelier of the Arts.

鈥淚 spent 2陆 years learning to draw or what they call learning to see,鈥� he said.

Thielen finally landed on contemporary figural work and quit his job in 2018.

鈥淚 was tired of everybody telling me what creative was,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a designer, I was doing commercial work.鈥�

His Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival poster 鈥淗igh Desert鈥� is part of a series of portraits of contemporary cowgirls.

鈥淢y muses always seem to be female,鈥� Thielen said. 鈥淭hey pretty much all are cowgirls.鈥�

Viewers have interpreted the poster figure as male, Native American and female. It doesn鈥檛 bother Thielen.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just great for me because I want it to be what you see,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not teaching them how to think about it.鈥�

New Mexicans may recognize the chamisa in the foreground, with juniper and mesas looming behind the figure.

鈥淎ll of my work is a mixture of where I try to find a balanced representation of subject, abstraction and expression,鈥� Thielen said.

He paints in acrylic and mixed-media. The feather in the original poster painting was real. In another painting, he used part of a Bosque Brewing Company beer can as a hat band.

New Mexico heavily influenced his work, despite his attempts to leave it.

鈥淲hen I grew up looking at the art, it was all cliche to me,鈥� Thielen said. 鈥淭hen when I left, I missed it. You realize we have a very unique culture here.鈥�

Thielen hopes to bring about 10 paintings to the show.

鈥淚鈥檓 painting like a madman right now,鈥� he said.

When Rio Grande organizers informed him his painting had been chosen for the festival poster, he was shocked.

鈥淚 had no idea,鈥� Thielen said. 鈥淚 was honored. I told them I didn鈥檛 know I had entered. I was speechless. I鈥檝e never had anybody want to spotlight my artwork like that.鈥�

Today he also shows his work in Madrid and Tucson, as well as in open-air shows.