Welcome to Andy Marquez's Blog

On December 23rd we had no idea where we were headed. On Christmas eve, around 1 P.M., I received a phone call from Jack at the Native American Gallery in Denver, saying ” I heard you were looking for a new space, let’s talk.” He was talking about the gallery, “The Camera Obscura” formerly occupied by the legendary photographer, Hal Gould, who retired a few months ago. Well, we are here, in Denver, gone again from Littleton. I look out my window and see the Denver Art Nuseum to the left, the Byers Evans House & Museum, directly across the street, and the Clifford Stills Museum to the right. This is a great location, here in the heart of the Golden Triangle. Be sure and stop by to visit our new gallery,
1307 Bannock St., right next store to the Native American Gallery.

December, once again, is upon us. It’s such a wonderful time. I absolutely love when a customer comes to me with a special request. I’ve just done a Mt. Princeton shot for a Littleton couple, standing in the place where he grew up as a little boy. For them, we’re doing a big canvas of that memory to hang on his wall. So folks, if you have any requests, I’m here for hire. It’s a great feeling when someone asks you to do something special and they wind up very happy. So, Teresa and I will be at the gallery every day til Christmas Eve. Both of us are in better health. I hope that it has been a successful year for all of you. We’re so glad to be back in Littleton keeping the holiday spirit. Let’s make this December one to remember.

On November 18th, Teresa and I will be celebrating our one year return to Littleton for our photography gallery. I apologize for such a long stretch since my last blog. The truth is, I had a massive hernia surgery in late July and it’s only been in the past month that I have really felt like doing anything. I”m sure that getting out and photographing, 2 quick trips to the Colorado mountains this autumn and 1 back to New Mexico, especially Taos, has sparked my new energy. My 14 year old Nikki has been with us on our trips and also taking some shots with her digital camera (I’m still using film). That girl has quite an eye. So,we will be introducing the 9 new images at a premiere to be held Thurs-Sun, Nov. 17th – 20th, at our gallery.
However, there is a 10th mage that is actually being introduced this weekend, Nov. 5th and 6th at the Roxborough Community Center. Of course, it is a Roxborough shot, it will also be the signature piece of the upcomg premiere titled “Every Path Goes Somewhere”.
We are offering an extensive line of holiday cards this year. You can actually pick any of my images and we can make them into cards for you. Oh,the
wonders of technology. By the way I am working on three new books, one on
the Southwest, probably a 2013 publication. The other two involve alot of writing. Since I received a B.A. in Journalism, this is a thrill for me. Please set aside some time to join us for our upcoming events and keep us in mind for the holiday gift season. Thank you for your time.

Thank you to everyone who voted for your all-time favorite Andy Marquez photographs! We have tallied up the votes and have our winners.

Here are the winners:

1. “When Dreams Take Shape”, Prague, Czech Republic
2. “A Fragrant Greeting” , Santa Fe, NM
3. “Both Sides of the Story”, Canyonlands, Utah
4. “In Light of the Unexpected” , Stockholm, Sweden
5. “A Breath Away From Heaven”, Red Mt. Pass, Co.
6. “Homecoming”, Gennessee Park, Co
7. “High Up Into The Heavens”, Picuris Pueblo, NM
7. “Ancient Spotlight”, Antelope Canyon, AZ
7. “Three Wisemen”, Thar Desert, India
10. “Trinity”, Taos Pueblo, NM

“When Dreams Take Shape,” Prague, Czech Republic:

As alot of you know, I haven’t done much shooting in the past year due to health reasons. However this changed in February when my wife, Teresa and my daughter, Nikki, headed down to New Mexico to burn up some film for a new book called “Sacred Seasons”, all about the southwest. From that trip, Il have images from White Sands, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, The Petroglyph National Monument and more. I returned ten days later with my friend, Mark, to photograph a wonderful little church at the Picuris Pueblo. Here I was able to produce four images in four minutes that I was happy with, just before sunset. Then I found an old negative, 35mm, of the Taos Pueblo church, from the same day I shot “The Sacred Season”, the pueblo in the snow. I now have enough material for a show to be held at our new gallery in ol’ Litttleton, April 28, 29, 30 and May 1st, one not to miss. It’s been almost a year and 1/3 since I’ve shown new images. It feels good. Wait til you see the light in this collection.

Also we are holding a VOTE to see what your favorite image of mine is. We are going back to the beginning (1986), to the years of the buffalo and other wildlife images. You get a #1 and #2 vote. We’ll run it through the first part of June. Someone who votes will receive a $200 gift certificate.You can cast your vote at the gallery in person, you can call us, or you can go to FACEBOOK in the comment section. This is going to be fun. Going back over the years. Maybe you want to wait and see the new images. I would. Thanks.

I am writing on behalf of Andy and Teresa to provide some updates concerning Andy and the gallery. They have a lot going on right now and asked me to provide these updates on their website.

Today, I am going to update you on Andy and his situation. Later this week I will address the gallery’s changes.

In April, Andy had emergency stomach surgery. Following the surgery he was stable, but remained in ICU for a while. It turned out that Andy had to have two additional surgeries. All three surgeries were within the span of ten days. Having to deal with the three surgeries and the additional medical care, Andy’s body was weak and he ended up getting ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). The ARDS began shutting down his lung and kidney functions. Because of this, the doctors put Andy in a medically-induced coma and placed him on a vent for six weeks. Gradually, he became more awake and began moving better.

Following the improvements, Andy was moved to a nursing care rehab facility. Eventually, his dependence on the vent diminished slightly and he began breathing without it a little more. While Andy still remained on the respirator, he was showing signs of increasing health.

In mid-June, Andy’s health continued to improve to the point where he was released from the respirator. The doctors also removed the trach tube. He still remained in bed, but began to eat some regular food and was starting to talk about doing some occupational therapy/physical therapy.

Andy started working on walking up and down the halls of his rehab facility with a walker. The staff also been helped him him walk up and down stairs so he could be well prepared when he comes home.

A few days ago, Andy had to return to the hospital.

Andy’s return to the hospital appears to be a temporary setback and the doctors do not believe any surgery is necessary, they are keeping him in the hospital for observation.

I hope that updates you on Andy’s condition. As I get more updates from Teresa and Andy I will post them here and on their Facebook page.

On February 26th, 2010 I will be heading east from Denver to exhibit at the Southern Spring Home and Garden Show in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the 22nd time I’ve driven the 1600 mile journey through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and finally into North Carolina. Twice on this trip I’ve blown transmissions. Weather’s always an issue. But I come to
North Carolina because of my dedicated clientel there and lots of friends I’ve met over the years. Also the Zimmermans., who run the show, are great
people to work with. See you soon Charlotte !

Being a international photographer and someone who has seen much of the world’s beauty, I feel much sorrow about what has happened in Haiti, so I feel like I would like to do something to help. Recently I contacted the American Red Cross here in Denver and on Thursday, Feb. 11th we will have a special event here at our gallery. I have hundreds of photographs that have been in the files, some for years, that are not part of our regular inventory. So I decided to mark the prices down drastically and give about half of the money taken in to help those affected by the devastating earthquake. We’ve lined up Strings, Opus and Quijote’s Restaurants here in town and we’re getting some food provided by the Colorado Sports Association for the event on Thursday. So please join us, and you may find some hidden treasures in this photographic collection.

My apologies for such a long break in between blogs. My first visit to the Grand Canyon was on my very first photographic trip in October 1984. I revisited the area in the early nineties, but haven’t been there since. I am in the early stages of planning a next book, a southwestern adventure. It should be a great one, but may not be out until 2011.
After cancelling a trip overseas, we decided to do a shoot back in canyon country. I had sucessfully photographed Bryce and Arches
in Utah and Canyon de Chelly in Arizona last April. Thoughts of returning to the Grand Canyon have been with me for a while. Well, the time had come. We left Denver on Sunday morning, the 18th of October and drove to Moab, proceeding to Arches National Park, where we hiked up the 1 1/2 mile trail to the Delicate Arch for sunset. However the light was blah as are my photos. Monday afternoon we arrived at the Grand Canyon to a cloudless, blah day. Tuesday’s weather report was for a system coming through in the afternoon.
So it did, and the canyon came alive. I have two new shots from there that I will be releasing for the holidays. One is called “Deep In Twilight”. However, my favorite two shots of the trip came from
Walnut Canyon and Sedona. Returning to Denver, we stayed in Santa Fe and I captured two great new door photos that will be in the collection. The gallery premiere will be Dec. 9th and a special sneak peak will be held in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday evening, November 20th at the Southern Christmas Show at the Park.

Many of you knew that our daughter Leanne was expecting. Well, on Thursday,
June 4th, 2009, aat 2:58 PM, Leanne gave birth to Jude Jackson Marquez. A big boy, he is,10 lbs. 13 oz. and 22″ long. This is our first grandchild. We’re very proud of our daughter.

This weekend I’ll be doing my annual show at Roxborough Park. This year it will be at JP’s Bistro in the Safeway Shopping Center. On Friday, June 12th, I’ll be releasing a new Roxborough photograph called “The Land We’ve Come To Know and Love”. If you’re in the area, stop by. The third weekend in June, we’re going back to Parker, to give that festival another try.