Tuesday, April 27, 2010

2010 Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show Going On Now

The 2010 Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show and Sale is now happening at the Loveland Museum.

This is an excellent opportunity to see some of the best paintings and sculptures from our talented Colorado artists.

This show started 32 years ago, moving to the Loveland Museum in 1990. These days, more than 4,000 people from across the country attend the show. (Don't fear...that's not all at once!)

The show's director is Judy Archibald and she says, "This show is one of the most prestigious exhibits of original art in the entire western United States." Her goal in selecting the pieces was to show talent and a variety of media.

The show opened last Saturday. 58 Colorado artists are featured with a maximum of 4 pieces in the show. The artists are professionals, from all across Colorado.

Beyond being an excellent show, the exhibit is a fundraiser for the Loveland Rotary and Thompson Valley Rotary with proceeds going to scholarships for art students in Loveland and Berthoud, Colorado, and helping local organizations including Habitat fro Humanity and House of Neighborly Service.

The local Rotary clubs provide the volunteers who are present at the show every day to answer question.

This is a great show to attend if you are an art student looking to learn and gather inspiration. As an artist, it is also a great show to see what your contemporaries are doing and maybe learn and be inspired, too! And, if you are an art collector, this is an opportunity for you to expand your Colorado art collection and help a lot of deserving people and organizations in the process!

The Loveland Museum is located at 503 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland, Colorado.

The show is free and runs through Sunday, May 30.

For more information call 970-962-2410 or visit www.governorsartshow.org

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Sculptor Fritz White Dies After Long Illness


Loveland lost one of her great sculptors this week when Fritz White died after a long illness.

Like many artists who now live in Loveland, White moved here to be close to the art foundry that was essential to his creations.

Fritz White was one of the founding 5 members of the Sculpture in the Park event that happens each August in Benson Sculpture Park. This annual event started in 1985 with just 50 artists and is now the largest juried outdoor sculpture exhibition in the country and has sales of over $1 million.

I never had the honor of meeting the sculptor in person, but have seen works by this gifted artist around our city...one in particular cannot be missed as you drive north or south on US 287, "Winning the Iron Shirt" which depicts one Native American claiming the war shield from his defeated opponent.

One year when I exhibited at the rival/sister show (depending on who you talk to) Sculpture Invitational I was seated next to a fine sculptor who had studied with White. Greg Todd told me that Fritz made all the difference to him when he said (and I roughly paraphrase!) that art is all about the creating...selling anything is a bonus.

Fritz White left behind a wonderful legacy of art, a fabulous show, many friends and admirers. We can honor him best by creating our work and living our lives to the fullest as he did. As his wife, Ina, said, "Show your work and be proud...Just do it. That's his legacy. He just wanted everyone to just do it."