Travel in and around Estes Park Fifth studio tour

The public will have the opportunity to visit six unique art studios, featuring seven artists from the greater Estes Valley, in the fifth open studio tour, slated in and around Estes Park Saturday, Sept. 24. The Estes Park art studio tour is an opportunity for the public to watch artists as they work, ask questions and to experience the art process in each artist's habitat. The event is sponsored by the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park, and it is free and open to the public.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to see how art is made," said arts council executive director Lynda Vogel. "All the sights, sounds and smells associated with the making of art will be available for studio visitors. We hope that our community and weekend visitors will take the time to experience the remarkable creative process. We are thankful for the artists' generosity, and appreciate their donation from sales in the gallery throughout the day to support Youth Arts Programs like Imagine This!, and other classes and activities that foster hands-on education for young people. This event also ties directly into our mission, which is to enhance the quality and accessibility of visual and performing arts for people of all ages. Besides, there isn't anything more fun than getting a behind-the-scenes look at an artist's art studio."

A variety of art techniques and styles will be featured on the tour, including painting, woodworking, drawing and mixed media/collage.

Studios feature both two- and three-dimensional art forms, and subject matter includes landscape, portraiture, abstract and contemporary designs in functional and decorative styles. Artwork will be available for purchase from the artists during the day-long tour.

Prior to the open studio tour, the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park website will display a collection of art representing artists on the 2011 tour. The online exhibit will provide an opportunity to preview the artists' work prior to the open studio tour.

A portion of sale of the art in the gallery will benefit youth arts programs of the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park. The CAC Fine Art Gallery will be serving refreshments on the day of the tour, and will open at 9 a.m. for map distribution and information. The studio tour begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. The CAC Fine Art Gallery is located at 423 W. Elkhorn Ave. in West Park.

At 6 p.m., the public is invited to finish off the tour by attending a meet-the-artists reception at the CAC Fine Art Gallery, celebrating the arrival of fall.

The 2011 tour features the following stops:

1. Dennis Reinke artist, 823 University Dr., works with oil, watercolor, acrylic and sculpture. Reinke converted an 1880 log barn into his new studio, where his focus is on oil painting commissions and large studio paintings. He paints portraits and landscapes, as well as animals.

He also has a collection of his bronze sculptures and watercolors on display. Reinke's oil painting style is expressionistic realism.

2. Greig Steiner Gallery & Design Studio, 1404 Cedar Lane, works with oil and mixed media.

"I work in many media and in a variety of techniques," said Steiner. "I paint in oils, primarily on standard hard-board producing landscapes, portraits, and other subjects. I do wall-sized cloisonné of a variety of subjects as well as murals in painted glass. I design and direct for theater, having graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, Calif. Our gallery has been in Estes Park since 1962. The courtyard building was designed and built by Ann and me to house the gallery and studios in 1973/74. We are now open by appointment on a year-round basis."

3. Roger Schuett - Unique Gifts, 1212 Brook Dr., works in woodworking. Schuett is a native Coloradan, born in Loveland. He returned to woodturning in 2002, after a 32-year hiatus. Delighting in a utilitarian modality, Schuett uses the grains of woods, stone and metal inlays to enhance his creations. All items for use with food use non-toxic oils and finishes.

4. John Lynch Woodworking & Design, 180 Chalet Ridge Ct. (3.5 miles south of Estes Park), works in woodworking.

"I turn a variety of work, from salad bowls to decorative wood-burned and painted art forms. My direction seems to be towards carving and piercing of the objects I turn," said Lynch. "And there's always time for a switch to commission furniture or a display shelf. Stop by my gallery and browse."

5. Robert Wands Studio Gallery, 710 Laurel Rd., works in oil, watercolor and acrylic. Wands was raised in the home of his artist father, the "Dean of Colorado landscape artists," Alfred Wands, who taught him to paint "En Plein Air" from the age of 12. Robert went on to receive his B.F.A. and M.A. in painting from the University of Denver, with additional graduate work at Case Western Reserve University and The Cleveland Art Institute. His master thesis dealt with "Atmospheric Conditions in Paint" and he became known as a cloud painter. He also spent five years as a seasonal ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park, which added greatly to his interest in landscape painting.

Robert retired as professor emeritus of art from Colorado State University at Pueblo, where he taught drawing and painting for 33 years. Robert Wands has been painting in the Estes Valley and RMNP for the last 57 years and exhibits both his and his father's paintings in the High Dr. studio.

6. Susan Sisk, Front Range Art Services, 1881 Upper High Dr., works in oil, acrylic and mixed media.

"When asked to summarize my work, I usually say something to the effect that my paintings have recognizable objects in an abstract or ambiguous context," said Sisk. "They grow out of a combination of intellectual concept, psychological point-of-view and my own visual pleasure -- all mixed together with a dose of playfulness. Offshoots of the main body of my work are my 'human cat' and 'Fallen Angel' series, which speak mostly to my oddball sense of humor.