Artistic therapy: New Mexico Veterans Art group uses creativity to heal trauma

At 13 years old, Roy Breckenridge left home to join the Army Rangers.

For over 23 years, he served in the military, spending a large chunk of his time in the Vietnam War before coming home.

“My team had been through an awful lot, and I was in kind of a dark place,” Breckenridge said. “I sat down and I figured, well, let’s see if I can still draw.”

Artistic therapy: New Mexico Veterans Art group uses creativity to heal trauma

Breckenridge experimented with a style of art called pointillism, which uses small ink dots of color to create a visual. He was invested in this style of art and he still uses this style now.

“You could say it kind of saved me because once I discovered that, once I sat down and really started working, time would fly away and my brain would just concentrate only on my artwork,” Breckenridge said.

When he realized how important art was to his healing process, Breckenridge and four other friends decided to create the New Mexico Veterans Art (NMVA) group, a nonprofit veteran led art group designed to provide companionship and support.

“We provide a venue for veteran art and their families,” said Don Johnson, current president of the NMVA. “We have found a lot of veterans need an outlet for their emotions and to have a way to work on their physical limitations. Some people use it to vent anger, some use it to find peace.”

Veterans, active duty, National Guard and reserve forces are welcome to join the NMVA. Spouses of veterans are also welcome to show their artistic talents. There are roughly 150 veterans and spouses in the group. There is no minimum artistic skill level to join the group.

“Some people say, ‘I had no idea I was considered a veteran’ and I tell them they are,” Johnson said. “A lot of people just come in through word of mouth and just meeting folks.”

The organization is run entirely by veteran volunteers. Occasionally, the state and Exxon donate grant money toward the group, but a majority of the money comes from public donations and membership fees. Memberships run $30 for a full year, November through October. Half-year memberships are available for $15. Memberships cover veterans and spouses in the same household, so only one purchase is necessary for a veteran family. Johnson said if a veteran cannot afford a membership, he is willing to waive the fee for the year.

Every November, the group comes together for the New Mexico Veterans Art Show as a celebration for Veterans Day. This year, the group decided they wanted to have an additional summer show to encourage more veterans to create art and to make the group larger through promotion.

“The November show has been going on for 26 years and is a pretty big success, but we wanted more shows and the ability to show our work more,” Johnson said. “That’s been one of our extra goals over the past five years is to get more summer shows and look for other shows.”

The group decided to put together an Independence Day Art Show as their latest summer show to fit the theme of veteran art. The show runs through July 31, at Fusion, 708 First St. NW.

About 30 different veterans contributed 93 pieces of art to the show. The art showcases several different forms of art including sculptures, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, photography and more.

Artists brought their work in the morning and the group reviewed the art before putting it up. The only requirements to display art in the group is for all art to be up for sale. Art must also be framed and able to hang.

“We try to set our standards to be the same as the New Mexico Expo, where we have our annual November showing,” Johnson said.

Prices are set by the artists. On occasion, the gallery or the veteran art group take up to 10% of the funds from art that has been sold, but a majority of the money goes directly to the artists.

“Some of the people are true heroes and it’s really amazing to work with and help those people and give them the things they need to cope with their emotions,” Johnson said. “I’m proud to work with these people.”