Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - On Friday, November 9, during the first Puerto Vallarta South Side Shuffle of the season, Galleria Dante will open a new painting exhibit featuring Guadalajara artists Nicolas "Nick" Gomez and Leticia Schmidt with a cocktail reception from 6–10 pm.

Nicolas "Nick" Gomez - Born in 1969 in Guadalajara, Nicolas Gomez is a self-taught artist. He basically started painting in 1996, when he had his first show in Tlaquepaque. He later studied under master painter Hilario Alvarez, a portrait painter who guided Nicolas to strive for perfection, something obvious in his detailed paintings.

Gomez painted exclusively for more than 4 years for the Riu Hotel chain of Mexico, creating works for the lobbies as well as their many hotel rooms. Nick, as he is fondly called by friends, has painted more than 50 murals, most for the Italiannis Restaurant chain of Mexico. He has owned his own studio for more than 20 years, where his daughter Cindy is now his top protégé, assisting him on many of his larger projects.

There is nothing he can't paint, as is evident in his body of works. From still life's of mandarins, squash, and other fruits and vegetables that come alive on the canvas, to a stampede of horses. From a portrait of a beautiful little girl or old lady, to a landscape or an old building. In September 2012, he participated in a show titled "Aromas on the Land" during the Patriotic Festivities. Nick's works are in collections in the US, Canada, South America, as well as in many private homes and hotels in Mexico.

Leticia Schmidt Born in Guadalajara in 1965, Leticia began her professional training in Graphic Design and participated in various Fine Art workshops until a professor encouraged her to pursue her dreams of becoming an abstract artist.

Schmidt describes her paintings as "harmonic compositions that communicate feelings of well-being, within one's self and their surroundings." She also describes her work as "a paradox." At first glance, her work appears to be chaotic: color, shape, and texture placed arbitrarily, but in fact these elements are placed on the canvas carefully and with discretion so the end result is harmonious.

In her early years, Leticia worked in watercolor, but later her interests turned to oil, acrylic, engraving and encaustic, combining techniques and textures to create her own language. Leticia's acrylic series is inspired by her travels to ancient cities in the Mediterranean and Africa. Her works, created with encaustic wax, take her love of texture and her color palette to a new level. She is equally comfortable working in both mediums and flows freely between the two.

Leticia has exhibited in Miami, Canary Islands, Argentina, Valencia, and New York, as well as many cities in her native Mexico. Part of her inspiration also comes from being a mother of a pre-school, active little girl.

South Side Shuffle 2012/2013

This is the 3rd year for the South Side Shuffle! Basilio Badillo may have seen a lot of changes over the last 25 years, but it has always been known for either it’s restaurants or it’s great shopping. It is only getting better.

Below are the 2012/2013 Southside Shuffle dates, including the artists Galleria Dante and ANDante will feature every other Friday from 6-10 pm:

Galleria Dante Show Dates

09 Nov 2012 – Nick Gomez and Leticia Schmidt
23 Nov 2012 – Nino Magana and Miguel Angel del Campo
14 Dec 2012 – Sandra Leonard, Janice Reuland, and Nina di Giovanni
28 Dec 2012 - Ute Hagen and Yvan Genest
11 Jan 2013 – Ignacio Guerrero and Jesse Reno
25 Jan 2013 – Pipo Brockmann, Alvaro Zardoni, and Edgar Martinez
08 Feb 2013 – Cherie Sibley, Javier Zepeda, and David Zepeda
22 Feb 2013 – Kathleen Carrillo and Andy Marcus
08 March 2013 - Luis Valui and Jorge Coste
22 March 2013 – Jean-Gabriel Lambert and Brewster Brockmann

AnDante Show Dates

28 Dec 2012 – Oscar Zamarripa and Ale Zamarripa
25 Jan, 2013 - Israel Zzepda
22 Feb 2013 – Guillermo Gomez

Open Mon-Fri from 10 am-5 pm, Galeria Dante is located at Basilio Badillo #269 in Puerto Vallarta's Romantic Zone. For more information, call (322) 222-2477, or send an email to info(at)galleriadante.com.

Click HERE to learn more about Galleria Dante.