When Darren Skanson first saw The Colorado Springs School, he was stunned.
Impressed by the campus’s neoclassical Trianon building, which towers over the lush, manicured courtyard, he knew this was the place he’d been looking for.
“I took some photos and sent them to a group of artists on my list and they were all amazed at how beautiful the place was,” she said.
Skanson, the entertainment director for the arts festival company Colorado Arts Weekend, was looking for a venue to celebrate the inaugural Broadmoor Traditions Fine Arts Festival, and he found it.
“If you stand with your back to Cheyenne Mountain and look across the courtyard at the Trianon and don’t think of fine art, I don’t know if I can help you,” Skanson said. “It’s just stunning. So, really, it all starts with that. We’re visual people. We’re artists.”
The second annual Broadmoor Traditions Fine Arts Festival returns this weekend. The two-day festival will feature more than 100 artists, including sculptors, painters, jewelers, potters, woodworkers and more.
“This year, we decided to move the festival to the Fourth of July weekend specifically because there are so many great visual artists who need access to an audience that really appreciates what they do. And that’s what we found here in Colorado Springs last year,” Skanson said.
The festival will feature internationally acclaimed portrait artist Judith Dickinson, who was previously commissioned to paint the likenesses of former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Judge Judy.
“Dickinson is one of the world’s finest portrait artists,” Skanson said. “We are very lucky to have her on board this year.”
Skanson also highlighted Zimbabwean sculptor Alex Chitura, master bronze sculptor Devin Rowe, Navajo painter Ray Goodluck and watercolor artist Peter Freischlag, who will all be attending this year’s festival.
“You talk about touching on all those things that make art,” Skanson said. “I can’t tell you how excited I am that a show that is being held for the second year is of this quality.”
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: gazette.com’
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