We had some wicked cold here in Denver lately so I decided to head down Santa Fe before the sun set this weekend past to honor my dedication to make it out every First Friday this year (in some form...in some location). Even hitting the stretch early, while many artists were still setting up, I managed to take in a lot of great work.
You'll want to visit the DEAD Academy (housed upstairs in the Colorado Arts Center at 841 Santa Fe) if you have never done so or even if you have not lately. Zak and his dedicated associates have been hanging a bunch of really great pieces from private collections! Right now you can see original artwork for Sin City and Aeon Flux. There is also no shortage of original art from Denver locals. There is a five foot tall (approx) Joker on wood by Zac Skellington Conley that I would do bad things of super villain caliber to acquire for my wall. You should check out
DeadAcademy.com for more information on these guys!
Downstairs I met
Joe Kimble who does amazing things with screenprinting! Below is just one example of the awesome B&W work he was exhibiting the other night. He does a great variety of sizes you don't find every day for those of you that might have an odd shaped void to fill in your space. Be sure to check out his web presence. Be sure to drop him a comment to let you know you found him here. I'd love to see his work in the pages of Cellar Door.
An artist who perfectly embodies the theme of color (for the book in progress Cellar Door: Coloring Book) is Michelle Soule (of
Souleart.com). She paints glorious gardens from her imagination and sculpts clay figures that embody both an ancient sensibility and an embrace of new spirituality. She also opens her loft home on Santa Fe as a gallery once a month for a very intimate showing of an artist and her space.
I was also charmed by talented illustrator,
Sara Wilson. The art world needs more magic like that demonstrated in her whimsical images. You can browse and purchase prints of her wonderful work at
Etsy.com/shop/FlyOkayIllustration.
There were lots of other great examples of why you should support Denver's local art scene. Hopefully you will see some of them in the upcoming pages of Cellar Door. Make sure you make it out to the next First Friday on March 7!
