The spirit of the holiday season is in full swing at the galleries that are part of the Steamboat Springs art community. Snowy landscapes, images of ski season and other Yule-tiding pieces are among the many works that will be revealed during December’s First Friday Artwalk, which occurs today.
Pine Moon Fine Art, at 117 9th St., will open an all-artist exhibition titled “Small Works.” A reception for the showing occurs 5-8 p.m. Friday. Additionally, the gallery has announced it will host an Art Talk series, with the inaugural event set for 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dec. 7.
The series will feature artists who are part of the Pine Moon family. The first presenters will be Paulina M. Johnson, Tibby Speare and Attila Feszt. Johnson will be sharing her paper on edge work, Speare will present on her jewelry and Feszt will discuss his stylized drawings and paintings. All are invited to come, learn and be inspired to create. Light refreshments will be served during the presentation.
Continuing the theme of collective energy in art, Steamboat Creates is reaching out to artists to become part of the Riverwalk Artist Collective Member group. Applications are open for 2023 and accepted members will show and sell their work alongside other Yampa Valley artists at The Depot Arts Center in 2024.
Artists who work with all mediums are welcome to apply at steamboatcreates.org or by emailing Visual Arts Coordinator Jillian Tomlinson at [email protected]. More information can also be obtained by calling 970-879-9008.
Additionally, the GIFT members’ show will celebrate local member-artists and their small works at the main gallery throughout December. This complements the Holiday in the Rockies festivities scheduled 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first three Saturdays in December (Dec. 2, Dec. 9, Dec. 16) at the Riverwalk Gallery. Santa will be present as shoppers look for that perfect holiday gift.
The Schoonover Gallery at 929 Lincoln Ave. will be displaying the art of J. Nelson, who passed away in October 2022. As a nationally acclaimed painter and storyteller, he presented the story of Lakota legends. While not of native ancestry himself, Nelson formed a deep bond with the Lakota community while living in the area of Pine Ridge.
According to Ray Schoonover, “Jim’s paintings are a metaphor for a spiritual connection to the natural world.”
“The subject matter that I paint is not a modern Indian, but a people at a period of time when animal spirits were tied to everyday life,” Nelson explained before his death. “These people knew their placement in the great circle of life; they lived close to their grandmother (Earth Mother) and were guided by their grandfather (Sky Father).”
He further elaborated that this concept is relevant during a time when people are “reaching back into the ancient times for a simpler way of life.”
Nelson’s work is respected at a deep level by native peoples as it allows for an opportunity to present the legends that are a deeply-rooted facet of their cultures.
More information on the Schoonover Gallery can be found at schoonovergallery.com.
The work of three different artists will be featured during December at the Jace Romick/R-Diamond Gallery at 833 Lincoln Ave. in downtown Steamboat Springs.
Jace Romick is releasing “Jackson II,” a limited-edition color photograph from Jackson Hole. It is the first time the piece, which is widely recognized and celebrated, will being shown in color and in a hand-built frame made by Romick himself.
Additionally, the aluminum mixed media work of Gregory Block will continue to be on display, capturing the color of aspen trees through the use of soda cans and tacks. Brian Bonebrake will be presenting “Minis,” which are small pastel renditions of Western-inspired subjects including ski runs and buffalo.
More information on the First Friday Artwalk, and the galleries and artists that participate in it, can be found at steamboatcreates.org.