Expo New Mexico’s Fine Arts Gallery will host 236 pastel paintings across three exhibitions this November, in what organizers describe as the state’s largest presentation of pastel art. The shows open Friday, Nov. 6, and run through Nov. 29, with free admission.
The combined lineup includes the 34th annual Enchanted Colors National Show, the PSNM Signature Show and the PSNM General Member Show, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Gallery hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at the gallery, located at 300 San Pedro Drive NE. An opening reception and awards presentation kicks things off at 5 p.m. on Nov. 6. Terri Ford is serving as judge of awards for the Enchanted Colors show, while Ilene Gienger-Stanfield, Andrew McDermott and Ian Rawling are the national show's jurors.
The combined format differs from the Pastel Society of New Mexico’s 2025 Enchanted Colors Exhibition, which ran at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos from March 22 through June 1 and was planned around 66 paintings by artists from across the country, per Fine Art Connoisseur.
Pastel’s Visual Range
Pastel’s vivid, luminous color is one of the medium’s appeals, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Its account describes pastel as pigment applied in stick form, with broad strokes that can create a paint-like effect.
The 236 works represent the combined presentation, not the national show alone: the total spans the Enchanted Colors National Show, the Signature Show and the General Member Show.
A Combined Format, Not a Single Competition
Albuquerque artist Sarah Blumenschein took an unusual route into the pastel world. She previously worked as an engineer before turning to painting full time, and she joined the Pastel Society of New Mexico in the early 2000s. Her work centers on still lifes that capture light bouncing off reflective surfaces like glass and china, a specialty highlighted in her biography from Weems Gallery and Framing, which notes she earned a degree in industrial engineering and spent 14 years in that field before retiring to raise children and pursue art.
That distinction matters when comparing this year’s total with earlier Enchanted Colors exhibitions, which were presented in different formats and venues.
Earlier Shows, Different Counts
A 2024 web gallery from the Millicent Rogers Museum described 99 paintings in that year’s show, while the museum separately noted holding 66 of the exhibition’s paintings. The 2025 Taos exhibition was planned around 66 pastel paintings. Those figures are not direct comparisons with this year’s 236, which combines three PSNM shows under one Albuquerque roof.
Pastel in Historical Context
The Metropolitan Museum of Art traces pastel’s early use to Renaissance Italy and says pastel painting proper dates from the seventeenth century. A separate event on the 2026 calendar, the Pastel Society of America’s annual exhibition, is scheduled for Sept. 8-24 at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park, according to the Pastel Society of America; unlike PSNM’s combined Albuquerque presentation, it is a separate annual exhibition.
With free admission and gallery hours Thursday through Sunday through Nov. 29, the exhibition offers visitors several weeks to see the combined presentation. The gallery is at 300 San Pedro Drive NE.
