Nederland celebrates its local artists

On Thursday, October 26, 2023, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center, the amazing talents of 22 Nederland area artists were on display for art lovers to celebrate.

Thanks to the efforts of event coordinator Annie Thayer, in collaboration with arts committee members and community center staff and volunteers, the 2023 Art at the Center “Opening Reception” was a great success. It highlighted all forms of artistic mediums and techniques, from experimental photography and watercolor surrealism, to 3D bronze work and distressed wood art.

Art enthusiasts were asked for a suggested donation of $10 and were given two drink tickets for glasses of complimentary wine, to pair perfectly with the wide selection of sweet treats and savory snacks. Jim McVey provided piano accompaniment as attendees scoured the halls, moving from piece to piece that hung from the walls and scribbling on their provided ballots their top three favorite pieces of work.

Nederland resident Eric Davis showcased his impressive work across different mediums. His ink and watercolor work, including the piece Meditating on Little People, was colorful and playful, highlighting a cartoon-like window into the artist’s mind.

At the end of the event, after ballots had been tabulated, Davis won first place at this year’s Art at the Center.

Environmental preservationist and guitarist for The CBD’s, Evan Cantor, presented his eye-popping and textured paintings of expansive wilderness, such as the piece Wilson Peak, which depicted the San Juan National Forest.

Dennis Quinn, after studying commercial art at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the FineArts, and earning his BFA at the University of Pennsylvania, continued working in the realm of his biggest influences, delivering for Art at the Center a striking piece of an excited dog mid-leap entitled Atticus.

Watercolor artist Wolfy Wolf’s signature style of bright, attention-grabbing colors representing his unique, somewhat unnatural perspective on natural landscapes, was on full display with such pieces as Alabaster. It is a watercolor painting on archival watercolor paper that depicts a stylized aspen tree within a grove.

George Friend presented his ability to brilliantly compose a beautiful photograph, framing the world around us to make bold and powerful statements. His piece Sunset frames the natural occurrence of the sun setting through the blank space provided by the architecture of San Miguel, Mexico.

Christine M. Springer’s oil paintings expressed the nature and landscapes we experience up here in the mountains through an emotional lens, especially through the grays and muted colors of Magnolia Fog, and the majesty of Grazing Buffalo.

Lee Kennedy, having retired from the world of software, engineering, and e-commerce, now enjoys skiing, hiking, and biking, as well as creating striking floral still life acrylic and watercolor paintings, like her piece “Flower Power,” which displays a powerful kaleidoscope of natural colors. Kennedy tied for third place with Madeline Perry in this year’s exhibition.

Having spent 25 years as a teacher of quilt-making design and techniques for The Smithsonian Resident Associates Program, artist Jeanne Benson returned to her first love of drawing and began producing photo-realistic art of plants and flowers using her favorite medium of colored pencil.

Thayer, who has curated the Art at the Center exhibitions for over 10 years and traveled the world to study art from award-winning watercolorists, showcased her distinct and original work, including more abstract pieces like Updraft and Peak to Peak Colors, which both evoke a deeper and more surreal connection to otherwise familiar landscapes.

Nature and wildlife photographer Kate Dougherty highlighted her love of high-altitude environments with her stunning black and white piece Rocky Mountain Mist, which captures the epic scope and undeniable beauty of the mountain range.

Theresa Jordan has, through watercolor painting and photography, learned to appreciate many things in her life as a retiree and has been inspired by the wildlife to be found across Boulder County. Her piece Baby Buff strikes viewers in the heart with the perfectly composed image of a baby buffalo snuggling up to her mother.

Local artist and manager at Kaleidoscope Fine Arts Gallery Danielle M. Crouse presented her acrylic paintings of wonderfully expressive animals, including a depiction of a fluffed up little sparrow, entitled Cheerful, and an awe-inspiring painting of a black fox, entitled Self Expression. Crouse won the “Coordinator’s Choice” award at this year’s show.

After a career as a psychotherapist, Lisa Gakyo Schaewe has sought meditative wellbeing and finds herself most inspired by objects of nature that are often overlooked. Raven Flight and Caw Caw Caw depict birds in flight through use of encaustic paint, which is a mix of beeswax and tree resin heated to a specific temperature that creates a unique look and texture.

Using long-exposure photography combined with a slow panning movement, Marc McClish creates his mesmerizing “chromascapes”, the result of which are naturally formed gradients of colors that resemble paintings or digital art but are mostly created in-camera. Chromascape 05: A Winter Sunset from NCAR features a wispy sea of blues clashing into a peach horizon.

Madeline Perry, after being diagnosed with dyslexia in 2019, dedicated her energies into making stunning art of animals and nature. The 14-year-old Maddie displayed her impressive watercolor paintings, including a portrait of a highland calf titled “Chesapeake Coo,” in wood frames made from a 160 year old bank barn that is still used on her grandparents dairy farm in Maryland. Maddie also featured her paintings on china plates.

World traveler and self-taught watercolorist Courtney Crockett displayed her striking portraits of some of Colorado’s more popular animals, which she has created perfectly with her airy and distinctive style in her pieces Bighorn Sheep in Red Rocks and Rocky Mountain Goat.

Judy Tuell Fisher presented her acrylic paintings inspired by her adventures to Mexico, including Dinner at the Fishing Pier, portraying a pelican who has escaped a feeding frenzy with a prize fish. Fisher also presented her wood carvings, which she called her own interpretation of sacred tribal carvings, depicting ancient spirit animals such as Heron, The Provider and She-Wolf, The Protector.

Melissa Getz showcased her playful bronze statuettes, like Honey Bear, who is depicted relaxing, leaning against a stump. Getz’s three dimensional mixed media picture boxes each told a story through expressive characters, like a fox in a pickup truck traveling the country, in Road Trip.

Using salvaged plywood and other found objects as her materials, Lorelei Stumbo believes in creating Earth-friendly art. Her distressed wood art, like the piece Dragon Eye, triggers each viewer’s own imagination, each viewer envisioning more than the piece’s title reveals.

Nancy Kirkendall expresses her interpretation of nature through her art, using cold wax and oil as her mediums to give life, color, and texture to the emotions that stir when being enveloped by the stark beauty of the world. The viewer can get lost in Kirkendall’s vibrant interpretations.

Gretchen Acharya’s soft pastel work produces eye-catching work that makes simple human moments pop off the canvas, shining a warm, intimate spotlight onto these slice-of-life snapshots, like of a runner preparing for a race in Stretching, or of a hockey player preparing to intercept the puck in Ice Age.

Jennifer Sharp’s art highlights her original perspective on the natural world. The vibrancy of her landscapes, like in her pieces Purple Mountain Majesty and Zion Narrows, depicts a more fantastical world just beyond our perception, pushing against the veil of reality as we know it. Sharp won second place in this year’s show.

Thanks to Thayer, to volunteers, the arts committee, and to the artists who spilled their love and pain onto canvases to be displayed, the arts continue to thrive in Nederland, and Art at the Center is the event that helps keep such creative expression alive.