Artists bring Studio Tour back for 9th year
Close to a decade ago, three local professional artists - Deb Komitor, Laura Reilly and Michael Baum - happened to pick the same weekend to open their individual studios to art lovers they knew.
We decided, this is crazy, Komitor recalled this week. Why don't we pool our resources together? So they rounded up a few more artists, and the Pikes Peak Studio Tour was born - an opportunity for the public to visit artists in their homes and/or studios and in some cases see them at work. The ninth annual tour will be Saturday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no charge. Out of a total of 14 artists at 11 studios this year, Komitor (a sculptor, colored-pencilist and oil painter) will be one of two on the Westside, at 741 Panorama Drive. The other will be Gail Necker (gourd creations), at 1224 W. Pikes Peak Ave. Reilly, who had a gallery in Old Colorado City for several years, will be displaying at 3908 Somerset St. on the east side; and Baum is not involved this year. In an interview this week, Komitor previewed some of the 80-some works she will have on display for the tour. She is doing more painting than sculpting of late, and enjoying using wood instead of a canvas. I love the hard surfaces, she said. I use direct strokes, so I don't want the paint to soak in. What kind of wood? If you ever recycled a hollow-core door at the ReStore downtown, it may be getting new life in a Komitor painting. It's my way of being green, she laughed. Komitor does most of her work at studio space she rents at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts. But she also keeps a studio at her Panorama Drive home. Her current project is painting from photos she took on a recent trek to the scenic Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Visitors on this year's Studio Tour will see some of these. For more information on the tour, including the other artists, call 201-3619 or go to pikespeakstudiotour.com. Westside Pioneer article |