AVON ARTS CELEBRATION

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Mountain Girl, artist, entrepreneur… A Vail Valley resident for over 25 years, Tara Austin Novak is inspired by the beauty of Colorado and her native upstate New York. Deeply influenced by her surroundings, Tara finds artistic inspiration in her yoga practice, snowboarding, hiking, biking and river sports. Tara’s abstract paintings depict the textures and ever-changing colors in the mountains and waterways of Mother Nature’s landscapes; the silence while snowboarding through a snow covered aspen glade, the calm contemplation sitting by a mountain stream, the brilliant colors on the autumn mountain side, rugged mountain terrain and the variable weather conditions that provide naturally vibrant colors and forms.

https://TaraNovakART.com

 Rich Roberts is a dynamic metal and steel artist. His current focus is on kinetic steel sculptures, often crafted in collaboration with fellow artists to incorporate glass, wood, and copper, resulting in visually striking and functional pieces Based at Vortex Art Galleries, Rich channels his boundless passion into designing custom, ever‑evolving artworks. His pieces, both playful and thoughtfully engineered, invite viewers into a world where metal meets motion and imagination takes shape.

 www.vortexartgalleries.com

“Master  Artist” award winner for the 2022 season winner! Peter Freischlag's  free-flowing style makes  his watercolors unique. Peter is a mood  painter creating an impression  of his sublet matter through the use of  bold and energetic colors.  Peter's greatest satisfaction comes from the  donation to worthy causes  such as Habitat for the Humanity, the  American Heart Association, the  American Breast Cancer Society,  Children’s Hospice House among others  and was commissioned by Johns  Hopkins in Baltimore where he produced  some 50 originals for their  surgery wing, Recently,  Wake Forest’s  University’s new neonatal center  approached Peter to paint the signature  piece for the entrance to  their new center and his 48 x 60 inch “Baby  Bear” adorns the entrance.  His work is bright and bold watercolors that  adhere to wood panels  treated with a preservative.

https://peter-freischlag.squarespace.com/

George H. Jones began his career as an artist at a very early age with graphite renderings and painting in watercolors but soon progressed to oils, a medium he has adopted for the last 25 years. Jones, a Texas native and longtime Dallas resident, is one of a limited number of established artists whose body of work captivates the attention of private and public collectors across the country. Working in large format, Jones’ paintings invoke eccentricity through the use of impressionist shapes and color.  https://www.georgejonesart.com/

Kimberly's work combines hand worked metal, hand sandblasting, hand painting and traditional leaded glass. Completely hand made from scratch, work combines multistage sandblasting, hand worked metal, and hand painting.

Henry made neon lights for vacuform Industries for a year before buying the company Quality Neon Products. As a neon manufacturer, Henry employed 15 people and wholesaled neon lights to large sign companies who shipped his products nationwide. Henry owned and operated the neon shop for ten years before moving to southeast Ohio and establishing Thorn Ridge Studios in 1999. Henry is married, has three children and lives in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Thorn Ridge Studios continues to provide well-designed vessels that are Beautiful, functional and affordable.

www.henrylevineglassart.com

Glenn lived abroad from 2008 to 2015, traveling extensively and taking photos. He returned home in 2015 to roll the dice as a full-time photographer. Since then, he's split his time traveling the country to participate in art shows - it's gone better than anyone could have dreamed! - and taking photos domestically and abroad. His objective is to create classic, realistic images that stand the test of time. He specializes in large images and panoramas, in sizes up to 6 by 24 feet, and small edition numbers.  www.glennlewisphotography.com

Expressionist , large format, local artist, have been showing in CO for a long time. From Soodi "My  love for art and painting as an artist like my imagination is as vivid  as before. After many years of painting, I feel confident to work with  resources and in dimensions that I was not aware of initially. I prefer  to work with mixed media: watercolor, pen and ink and I use all kinds of  man made materials, papers and photos I have taken in nature and from  objects. My art is not limited to a certain style but all who know my  work, can recognize my painting by the spirit that it contains." 

https://soodikick.com/ 

Doug  Wodark's art centers on an update of the iconic image of  animals in a  more contemporary light.  A simple, atmospheric background, often with a  solvent-based patina, overlaid by a single, closely cropped silhouette.    Doug lives in Castle Rock, Colorado with his wife, Heidi, and two  children.     His work can be found at various galleries throughout the  West.  

www.douglaswodark.com

Each and every piece is handcrafted by Lauren JW Grant, owner and designer of Lj Jewelry Designs. It all starts with the stones and Mother Nature in general. The light and energy from the stones inspire the unique and one of a kind designs. Her work is often decribed as casually elegant jewelry art that is easy to wear, current, and timeless.

www.LjJewelryDesigns.com

Sydney Gruber looks to capture an incandescent pulse of life in color and connect with a world of raw energy. She makes focal point paintings and has developed a line of internationally selling chess sets. Moving through her like harnessed electricity, Sydney intuitively layers and textures color, often kisses paintings with gold leaf, and then levels her work in an elite coat of gloss resin for an elevated contemporary look. In life, she strives to match reason with passion and collect the nectar. With the soul of a truck driver, she paints on the road as a professional roadrunner in her traveling showroom when she’s not in her Austin studio. In this modern art renaissance, this is Sydney’s celebration of life.

www.sydneygruber.com

“Distinguished Excellence“ category award winner! "Elemental Materials"

Tina Hoffer is a unique woodworker by blending two of natures alluring elements; wood and stone. Tina  creates functional, culinary accessories with her Cutting Boards, Gathering  Boards, Serving Platters and Dipping Trays that will elevate your daily or  special occasions. 

Tina meticulously searches through  arborists’ wood lots looking for the perfectly flawed, cracked and knot  filled hardwoods that other woodworkers pass by because of these  deficits. She chooses smaller pieces of wood that will be enhanced with  Stone like turquoise, lapis, malachite or chrysocolla, and inlays these  into the cracks and voids. She follows the Kintsugi method of Japanese art , where broken and fractured pottery is mended with gold  or silver dust, there by restoring the fragments to a functional and more  beautiful piece.  

www.knotswoodandstone.com

“Mixed Media Outstanding Innovator“ award winner!

Marilyn's art is reverse painting on acrylics. Yep, she paints in reverse from the most forward elements of the piece to the furthest back. This unique approach garnered Marilyn our  winner from ColoradoArtWeekend.com

You have to see it in person to truly appreciate its magic. Her work is inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds her home at the base of the Mt. Evans wilderness area in Idaho Springs, Colorado. Painting in a modern impressionist style, Marilyn's art is infused with brilliant light and color. Her use of textured, bold brush strokes magnifies the vivid impressionist style.

www.marilynquigleyart.com

Claire Baker is an artist known for her bright, organic, and fun approach to art. Her work spans across landscapes, portraits, abstract pieces, and still life, showcasing her versatility and creative range. Claire uses acrylic and oil paints as her primary mediums, working on stretched canvases, canvas panels, and canvas paper. Some of her pieces are framed, while others remain unframed, allowing each artwork to maintain its unique expression. In addition to paintings, Claire also creates drawings and prints, adding variety to her artistic portfolio. Some of her paintings feature mixed media elements that create a three-dimensional effect, adding depth and texture to her work. Through her vibrant and engaging art, Claire captures the essence of life and nature in a visually compelling way.

www.cbakeart.com

“Distinguished Excellence“ category award winner! - Painting

Mark  Jennison uses brush and palate knife work to create impressionistic and  expressionist landscape. Trees and mountains play an important in role  in most of Mark’s work. 

“I fell in love with Colorado on my first visit in 1980.”

The  Colorado landscape has had a profound personal impact on him and is a  dominant theme in his paintings. He aspires to capture light, texture  and patterns of nature and convey grandeur and depth in each painting.

Mark  has found a sense of tranquility in painting.  His works are a tribute  to the inspiration of nature and he hopes that others can find the same  peace and solitude through his artwork.  He has  sold his artwork throughout Colorado and the US, as well as in Europe

www.markjennisonart.com

Deidre Sappington is a progressive custom stained glass artist, specializing is stained glass pet portraits. 

 She  has been creating stained glass windows and panels since 2015. Her  inspiration comes from the transference of light and the emotion that it  evokes through Stained Glass.  Her love of animals led to specializing  in stained glass pet portraits and memorials, where she expertly  captures the essence of our adopted family members. Deidre also enjoys  creating custom works for her clients, including up-cycling old items  with stained glass to give them new life through art. 

 www.Brokenglass.design

Holly Olive is a Colorado-based painter.  She was born in North Dakota, but has lived in a wide range of landscapes from the Mojave Desert to New England.  This variety of landscapes is evident in the paintings she creates today.  Inspired by dreams of altered worlds, her paintings embody the movement and color of an altered universe.  Using acrylic and alcohol ink, she creates abstract landscapes of a world that is just outside her reach.  She casts out her brush as if it were a wizard’s wand in unpredictable strokes to inflict a visual experience that stimulates the mind to ask “What world is this?”  She uses a palette knife with an intentional splat to cleave into the fabric of time and space.  She works back and forth, layer to layer, until she verges on falling from the precipice to a new and precious universe.

For purchasing Holly's work, go to www.villainhatter.com