Larkspur, CO The Colorado Renaissance Festival

Well what can you say about the Renaissance Festival, it is a portal into the past with great art and entertainment for the whole family.

There are art mediums of every sort, paintings, caricatures, pottery, sculpting, wood carving, glass blowing,  clothing, fiber, footwear, furniture, head ornaments, herbal, indulgences, jewelry, leather, metal, musical, toys and much more.

There are great shows like Puke and Snot, the Washing Well Wenches, Magic Shows, The Endangered Cat Show and much more.

The people themselves were works of art dressed in the finery of the time.

The King and his court for jousting and merriment.

The Colorado Renaissance Festival runs from June 11 through July 31st 2011, if you have never been then you should plan a trip to go.  If you have been several times like me, then it is a yearly pilgrimage to go and see what is new and unique.

Boulder Art Festival

So it is on to the Boulder Art Festival sporting 200 art dealers and vendors.  Then after that I went down to Pearl St to see all the galleries located down town.  Let the pictures below show you all the great art I saw. Click on the Photos below to see in large format.

The downtown area was packed with people.  I got to see some great sidewalk shows and many fine galleries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Art Mart on Pearl St in downtown Boulder was wonderful.

It was packed full of beautiful art and unique gifts made by local artists and even some international artists.  The staff was very friendly and the selection was enormous.  It was a great stop! I probably could have spent all day in there.

 

 

 

 

 

The Boulder Arts and Crafts Gallery is one of the oldest Art Cooperatives in the United States.  It has new galleries of artists periodically and is worth checking the calendar of upcoming art displays.  It is filled with many art mediums from local boulder artists as well as regional artists.  There was so much to see in so little time. I plan on making another trip here to have a chance to enjoy it all.

The SmithKlein Art Gallery was my next experience.  The SmithKlein Art Gallery has been in downtown Boulder for 26 years. They bring fine art from around the world for all to see here in Colorado. It was amazing to have the chance to enjoy the art from artists across the world. They also have monthly shows from local artists that start on Fridays and go for 30 days so please go and check out their calender if you are visiting Boulder.

The Vail Arts Festival

I got into Vail about 6 p.m. and started looking around. This is not the first time I had been to Vail but that was a long time ago and things have really changed.  The Festival was at the Lionshead Mall area so I scoped out how to get there for tomorrow.  I have been puzzling over how to tell you about the truly great art show.  So I decided just to show the pictures then list the artists that were at the show.  Click on the Photos below and see them large.

Wonderful, everyone was gracious and friendly and I had a great time chatting with all of them.

ARTISTS AT THE VAIL ARTS FESTIVAL

Acrylics Michael Swearngin
Bronze Sculpture Felicia
Bronze Sculpture Carl Wagner
Ceramics Marvin Blackmore
Ceramics Lane Dukart
Ceramics Casey Hankin
Ceramics Theo Helmstadter
Ceramics Kim Peterson
Clay Colleen Everett
Clay David Nelson
Drawing Greg Barnes
Drawing Richard Mitchell
Fiber Anita Baptiste
Fiber Art Paulette Ohnstad
Fiber (Wearable) Barbara Holloway
Fiber (Wearable) Autumn Warner
Glass Bryon Sutherland
Glass Scott Hartley
Glass Lance Heddan and Suzanne Chustz
Glass Kimberly Reed
Jewelry Karen Anderson
Jewelry Katherine Goulandris and Michael Burris
Jewelry Michelle Henzel
Jewelry Suzanne Miranda
Jewelry Kevin O’Grady
Jewelry Amy Rickard
Jewelry Brittain Roberts
Jewelry Melissa Shipley
Jewelry William Skiles and Lisa Stotska
Jewelry Sarah Tams
Metal Keith Chew
Metal John and Missy Dorsey
Metal Lenna Kay and George Gountanis
Metal M J Krob
Metal (Copper) Sam Mayhob
Mixed Media Armando Adrian-Lopez
Mixed Media Bob & Jan Snyder
Mixed Media Dave Reiter
Mixed Three Dimensional Media Doug Fountain
Mixed Two Dimensional Meida Kym Allison
Mixed Two Dimensional Media Mary Staby
Oil on Canvas Adam Freed
Oil Painting Susan Westwood
Oil Painting M. Shawn Cornell
Oil Painting Sarah Phippen
Painting Armando Adrian-Lopez
Painting Joyce Billings
Painting Pamela Lee
Painting/Sculpture Guilloume
Photography Dan Caldemeyer
Photography Dick Cunningham
Photography Jason Pavalonis
Photography Randall Roberts
Photography Randall K. Roberts
Photography Michael Stipek
Photography Tim Zandee
Sculpture Kenin Fenster
Watercolor Angela Marie Poches
Wood Tanya Gerard & Rob Thomas
Wood David and Carolyn Levy
Wood Souphom Manikhong
Wood Blase Mathern Jr.
Wood Christine and Ron Sisco

Buena Vista Colorado

So this has been my office this week.  

I am on my wat to Vail and made a stop in Buena Vista. I wasn’t the only one who stopped into to town.  I was making a u-turn at the end of the street and couldn’t miss this site.

The Courtyard Gallery and Gifts

I stopped into a little gem of a Gallery called The Courtyard Gallery and Gifts.  This little store was deceiving.   It was room after room and artist after artist that just kept going and going.   This gallery hosted probably 30 different artists. In the gallery they have original wall art in many mediums as well as stained glass, hand painted and digital photography cards, hand crafted jewelry, pottery, fiber art, inlaid wood pieces, photography as well as many artist-made gift items. New art is being brought in all the time.  They also have a section for all kinds of art supplies.  At the very back of the gallery there was a studio for artists in training and class taking.   It was an excellent display of local Colorado artists.

Salida Art Walk

Salida, the one of the biggest secrets in Colorado.  I have driven by there so many times, I never even considered that there was a downtown (One of the largest historical down town district  in Colorado).  I just thought maybe it was a dirt spot on the side of the road with a few business supporting weary travelers and rafters along Hwy 50, much like my home town in Nebraska.  Man was I shocked when I got downtown.  Beautiful buildings and the town seemed to be bursting at the seams with bikers, cyclists, kayakers, and tourists.   So when I got to talking to people I found out that this weekend was their 19th Annual Art walk Salida.  This event was not on the list that I was using for traveling to art festivals for this weekend so I just stumbled into a situation where some kind of art is on almost every wall, court-yard, and sidewalk in town.  I only wish I could have stayed to whole weekend to see everything.  There are 51 stops throughout Salida from cafe’s, restaurants, real estate offices, banks, the library, the yoga center, coffee shops, the community center and much more all hosting artist from miles around.  The art mediums ranged from paintings and photography to sculpture, wood carvings, hand-made furniture, jewelry to garden art, virtual video art and music just about on every corner.

My first stop was Smalzel Ortman Gallery. Stephen’s biggest passion in art is nature and color and it definitely shows up in his paintings.  Beyond his specific goals, the expression of natural beauty, there is the simple goal of enjoying the processes itself.  Stephen thank you for your time even though I knew you were getting ready for the big weekend.  That is Stephen up on the sign.

My next Stop was Brooks Gallery Art Photography.  I met with Gail Brooks and we had a great talk about how she does half of the photography and her husband Lenny does the other half.  She also is a potter and had some beautiful pottery on display in the Gallery.  Photography of Colorado in droves, forest landscapes, animals, flowers, plus much more.

Terrific Stop.    Next it was down the street to the Art Matters Gallery.   Gloria Jean Countryman is an absolutely delightful lady who when we met was mixing paint and checking paint cans for the upcoming Art Walk.  She was very excited about one of her projects called Street Sheet a community art mural.  She called it the spontaneous combustion of creativity.  This is a community art project were anyone to play, paint and create on a huge canvas mural that will auctioned off with proceeds going to support Youth Arts in Saldia.  Right away I knew I was going to be spending some time with Gloria and some time with her gallery.  The Art Matter Gallery was voted Salida’s Best Gallery of 2010.  With over 50 Artist represented specializing in oils, water-color, acrylics, pastels, monotype, pottery and much more it took a while to get my brain around all the sensory input.

Well there was much more to see and do but I have to hit the road on my way to Vail.  I dearly wanted to stay and get to know the fine people I met.  I know one thing, this place is not far from Pueblo, and I am taking my wife to downtown Salida as soon as I can.

Canon City, Artist Galore

I have passed down town Canon City many times on the road to somewhere else  and never took the time to stop.  I can truly say, I’m sorry. A very interesting and historical place.  There is a lot to see and is definitely worth spending an hour or two during your trip to wherever.

My first stop was at the The Artist’s Gallery, 416 Main Street.  I met with two extraordinary women and had a great conversation.  Sammy Burman is the new owner and curator of the Gallery.  She just recently took over the Artists Co-op and is very excited about what she will do for the art community of Canon City.  Sharon Dykes-Modlens, artist and owner of Glass Magic, was sitting for the Co-op today and is a member with a stunning display of glass art.  The Gallery had everything from the glass work you see in the picture to hand crafted furniture.  Oil, watercolor, acrylic painting, photography and sculptures represent about 40 artists all of which are obviously talented.  Thank you ladies for your time and I know that you will make a difference in this community for artist of the area. Sammy on the right and Sharon on the left.

My Next stop was at Micheal’s on Main, 650 Main St. When I went in, I asked the young lady where the art gallery was. On my left heading up the stairs was this amazing butterfly photo that covered the wall all the way up the stairs.  It must have been 40 feet tall.  A great way to show me to the gallery.  This gallery  showcases or 35 established artists,  and many new emerging talents.  Truly an amazing display of  limited edition photography ,  paintings, pottery, knives, woodworking, fabric collages plus much more.  I think I could have spent half a day experiencing the length and breadth of all the different media and subjects. Great, do not miss this if you can help it.

Canon City was an unexpected treasure chest of art galleries. I am so happy I finally got the chance to experience it.

Suprises in Florence, CO

The first stop on my trip was Florence, Colorado. It was a very pretty little community filled with many wonderful antique stores and art galleries.

Spirit Riders

My first stop in Florence was at 115 E Main Street.  The store is called Spirit Rider owned by Barry Brierley.  The Antique store/art gallery is chock full of very unique western wear, books, boots, antiques, art and custom jewelry.  Barry was actually working on a painting in the studio portion of the store.  Barry is a published author, artist and screen writer.  Some of his painting has to do with the book covers and characters from his books.  Most of his painting are of western themes and wildlife.  Amazing stuff, truly worth a look if you get by there.

Thank you Barry for your time and unique look at the west.

The Main St. Gallery

The Main St. Gallery was my next stop.  A large store with multiple sections of art from photography, painting from local artists, sculptures, and estate and hand crafted fine jewelry using diamonds and gem stones.  Owners Vinny Woods and Jeff Oberly were crafting a marketing campaign when I went in.  I had a great talk with them.  I discovered that these men are not only talented themselves, but are instrumental in sharing art of many disciplines with the public.  A great stop, thank you guys.

Ann’s Art Annex
Ann Sears is an award-winning jewelry designer. Her introduction to making jewelry began in high school when she was awarded a scholarship to an art camp. Upon taking jewelry, she became addicted and arrived home with the announcement that she would pursue that in college.  She received her BFA degree in Jewelry and Silver-smithing from the University of Kansas. She has been designing and making jewelry for over forty years.  She opened her own art gallery in Colorado fifteen years ago.  Husband Bob has another part of the store dedicated to some really great Colorado Photography and another part for hand crafted instruments.  I saw many dulcimers.

 

Touch of Grace Gallery

Touch of Grace, A Gallery of Antiques and Fine  art owned by Jonny and Freita McGinnis is a huge building with two floors  of superb antiques with walls covered in paintings of all kinds.   I guess I had never looked at antiques as art, but the way the art enhanced the antiques or in some cases the other way around was truly worthy of inspection.  Don’t miss this one if you are ever in Florence CO.

Raindrops Art Gallery

Wow this was a great little studio.  Svetlana was painting a new painting when I went in.  She has awesome artwork on her walls and some fine jewelry to boot.  Svetlana knows how to stylize and simplify her subjects into whimsical, abstract acrylic paintings.  A bonus for anyone stopping by Florence.  Thank you Svetlana for taking the time to show me around.

The Mezzanine

The Mezzanine is a two-story treasure trove of antiques and art.  Probably the largest store so far with everything and anything you could want.  Owned by Morrie and Laurie Aves the store is loving filled with about anything you could want for your home.  They have 14 artists and dealers who show and sell their artwork on the walls.  Wonderful.  Don’t miss this one.

Blue Spruce Gallery

Blue Spruce Gallery is a little cottage on main street that is like stepping back in time.  They have fine arts and crafts, select antiques in a Victorian house next to the Rialto Theatre.

The house was wall to wall art and antiques.  Unique and special sculptures, paintings galore from obviously very talented arts from around the area.   It was so unique and eclectic I ended up spending a fair amount of my time there.  A must see.

Thank you to all of the galleries for their wonderful hospitality! It was a wonderful experience!