This past weekend I spent some time at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival , located here in Denver, Colorado.  For three days 200 artists from around the country exhibited their works at what has been described by some publications as the number one outdoor arts festival in the US.  It is estimated over 350,000 people made their way to streets of North Cherry Creek this year for the festival.

Just prior to making my way through all of the exhibitors the wind picked up and some rain started to fall.  While not ideal for the artists, the rain did bring some relief to the near 100 degree temperatures.  As the showers let up, I was walking by one of the music venues with 49 Floors playing.  Liking the sound, I decided to stop for a while and enjoy the music.  With a mix of cover songs and songs written by lead singer Craig Maierhofer , their own work was a sound which was influenced by some of the musicians they covered.  These included Crowded House, Radiohead and John Hiatt.  Once their performance ended I decided to head on home as it was quite a long few hours in the sun by that time.

(more after the image)

This year while strolling through the streets and taking in the various types of visual artwork I found there were some artists displaying their craft which I enjoyed.  I kept track of some of these artists and have provided information about five.  The artists are listed in alphabetical order.

Jeffrey Cannon – I recall seeing the pastel drawings of Jeffrey Cannon a couple of years ago at the Cherry Creek Arts Fair and thought about getting a piece then.  When I noticed the works once again it reminded me of that prior art show.  There is something which draws me into his pieces and it also provides almost a calming effect to look at the work he creates.

Barry Hendrickson – An interesting subject in black and white always draws me in for a more detailed look.  This is what I experienced as I walked by Barry Hendrickson’s pictures of Ireland.  With a sky which makes the scene quite compelling in the scene it was a quite busy booth.

Leif Holland – Strolling by the booth of Leif Holland the subject manner drew me in to see more.  Once near the booth and checking out his work I quickly found it was bringing the outdoors inside with his botanical sculpture.  With aspen trunks, bamboo is was quite a different style of artwork than the others items on display.

Taman Vanscoy – I noticed Taman Vanscoy’s booth out of the corner of my eye as I was walking by in a crowed of people.  His style of drawing to me almost looked photographic.  I found the subjects to be interesting but quite simple at the same time.  Taman was not at his booth when I was there, as it would have been interesting to find out more about his work.

William Vanscoy – It is not only about finding the subject to photograph and interpret with your style, but transfering this only a print is also an important part of the process.  William Vanscoy does this quite well with a pigment process for his color prints on a velevt paper.  From envision to the final product his work brings the viewer a quality image to study and understand.

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival is held each year over the 4th of July weekend in the Cherry Creek North area of Denver.  If you are in town next year when it is held, definetly check it out.