A new gallery, called McNabb Martin Contemporary Art, has opened in a very classy and elegant building at 1990 Columbia St. in Little Italy. The gallery is the brainchild of abstract artist-turned-gallery owner Patricia McNabb Martin, and it looks to be a star in the art scene of downtown San Diego. The current show at the gallery, which opened on April 1, features the work of 12 regional and international artists, including Donna McGinnis, Paul Ecke and Luis Marzoratti, all of which were supplied by William Merrill Gallery of Laguna Beach, which handles McNabb Martin’s work, also found on display. On an instinctive impulse in February, McNabb Martin decided to open her own art gallery. “I had been rejected by all the art galleries in San Diego so I decided I would open my own to show my art work,” she said with a smile. “This gallery has been my most creative challenge to date.” McNabb Martin rented her new space on February 18 and just six weeks later, after much refurbishing of the interior of the building, opened on April 1. Her vision is to have a gallery where the artwork is accessible to the beginning collector. “I would rather sell a lot for less than a few for more,” she said. The gallery, she continued, is a collaboration of both friends and family. “I am one of the artists showing, my husband is the financial advisor, my son made the website, my dear friend works in the gallery and a client is the gallery attorney.” Jerry Michaud, the friend who works in the gallery, is very pleased to be a part of the process. “I like to be involved with projects from the ground up, from the inception, learning as we go,” he said. The official grand opening of the gallery was on the weekend of April 30-May 1, in conjunction with the Mission Federal ArtWalk in Little Italy. On May 13, the gallery will be open late for Kettner Nights. A new show will to open every six weeks. McNabb Martin earned her bachelor of fine arts from the University of Illinois at Champaign and her master of fine arts from the Art Institute of Chicago. After what she describes as three unbearably cold Chicago winters, McNabb Martin and her husband sold everything they owned, bought a truck and headed to California. They thought about Santa Barbara but eventually decided on San Diego because they felt they would have a better chance of making a living. For 30 years, McNabb Martin put her art career on hold, working as a designer and builder of homes. Eight years ago, however, she took art back up and ever since has been at it full-time. At first glance, McNabb Martin’s work resembles Jackson Pollack’s abstract drip paintings. But, she said, “I am not like Jackson Pollack. I throw the paint on the canvas with a sideways flick of my hand, brush or palette knife. That’s different than the dripping that Pollack did. Also, my lines continue off the canvas into space, whereas Pollack’s were narrowly confined. “I like to let the paint do stuff and see what happens. I collaborate with my medium rather than strictly control it. I let chance come into play. Paint does some wonderful things when you give it freedom. My work is really about landscapes and I stretch color as far as it will go. I like to create a storm of color.” As for naming her abstract pieces, McNabb Martin said, “I really have to force myself to give my paintings names. I do it because it seems to be important for the archival aspect. I ask myself, ‘What would this be called if it had a name?’ Then I just let a name come to me.” The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.patmcnabbmar tin.com, call (619) 546-5888 or email [email protected].