memorial day weekend...the unofficial start of summer and its many art, music, food, drink, and neighborhood festivals. in the next ten days,there areat leasttwo fabulous opportunities to start off your summer in an inspiring way by buying some art. one of the best introductions to denver's art scene and its artists is first friday at the art district on santa fe between 6th & 12th avenues. and lucky for you, there is a first friday coming up on june 1, 2012. this post includes works by a few of the many talented artists i've seen in the galleries throughout the years. and while the artists and galleries have changed, the santa fe art district continues to inspire.
there are 40+ galleries and artist studios open in the art district on santa fe on the first friday of every month from 6p-9p. go to www.artdistrictonsantafe.c
due to the 5,000+ first friday patronswho visitthe art district on santa fe each month, parking and traffic can be difficult. i recommend going early and grabbing dinner at el taco de mexico, a denver institution at 714 santa fe, or catching the free shuttle at west high school.
jeffrey berryman "dumpsters" -my husbandand ifirst saw this piece at the now defunct sizzle & bang gallery in september 2009. it is an oil on metal painting of the dumpsters behind the historic plains hotel in cheyenne, wyoming. almost two years later, it ended up on our living room wall (a 40th bday gift from my wonderful husband). check out www.jeffreyberryman.com for more information on this talented colorado-based artist.
marie vlasic - we also had the benefit of seeing marie's 3on3 show at anthony camera studio gallery in 2009. her oil paintings are so expressive that you swear you're looking at a photograph. to see more of marie's work, go to www.vlasicstudio.com.
jennifer balkan "moths fly to the light i" - while jennifer lives in austin, tx, she has ties to denver and was one of the female artists featured in showings fine art "celebrating women artists" show in 2009. i like how this painting is bothwhimsical and haunting. please visit jennifer's website at www.jenniferbalkan.net for more info.
jill soukup "gates watertower" - jill is a colorado-based artist whose subjects range from puppies to deserted factories. like jennifer, she was featured in showings fine art "celebrating women artists" show. she is represented locally by saks galleries in cherry creek north and can be found on the web at www.soukupstudios.com.
michael w. vacchiano "the critic" - i like to surround myself with things that remind me to lighten up and enjoy life. this painting is one of those things. we picked it up from one of my favorite artist-owned galleries on santa fe, kanon collective (www.kanonart.com).
david menard - like michael w. vacchiano, david is a member/owner of kanon collective. his architectural works are of particular interest to a real estate nerd like myself.
prior to first friday, you might want to swing by the 14th annual downtown denver arts festival (www.downtowndenverartsfestival.com), which is held over memorial day weekend at the denver pavilions in downtown. the festival features mostly colorado artists with select juried national artists sprinkled in.
at booth 132, you'll find one of my favorite colorado ceramicists, liz mccombs (www.lizmccombs.com). liz grew up in rural colorado and currently resides in manitou springs.
here's another piece of liz' that we have in our collection. while it may be difficult to see in the above picture, the red tags on the arms say "rock," "paper," and "scissors."
at booth 6,you'll find colorado-based photographer jeffrey graves (www.graymatterimages.com). his recent works include this photo called "no where" taken in the eastern plains of colorado. he captures the desolation so perfectly and beautifully.
also from jeffrey graves' colorado eastern plains series is this photograph called "the lean." it reminds me of all of the summers i spent in northern minnesota at the farm where my grams and her ten siblings grew up.
before or after swinging by the downtown denver arts festival, make sure to stop at osteria marco (www.osteriamarco.com), one of frank bonnano's more affordable restaurants, in historic larimer square. order the burrata (which as an aside is the best in town), the beet salad, and a panini to share.you will not be disappointed.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! What are your plans?
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