Since the late 1800s, artists have been inspired by the beauty of the Estes Valley and this entire area. Today, the Estes Park art scene is alive with local and regional artists creating works to enjoy and collect at the many fine galleries and shops in town.
Many galleries participate in First Friday art walks offering live music and artist demonstrations. Check their websites for information.
Living Legacy
Whimsadoodle Inc. is a nonprofit operating foundation and the living legacy of Barb Marshall, a visionary patron of the arts.
Whimsadoodle’s mission is to cultivate spaces where art, connection, and opportunity intersect. Through thoughtfully restored properties and artist-centeredprogramming, the organization re-imagines underutilized buildings as vibrant cultural anchors, places where people gather to create, learn, collaborate, and belong.
The Wonderful Things Project and Cleave Street Commons embody
that vision in action.
Gallery and Gift Shops
Earthwood Collections represents a wide selection of fine art and blown glass by Colorado and national artists. Featuring paintings of Rocky Mountain scenery by award-winning local painter Margaret Jensen and unique Colorado and Estes Park cityscape and landscape paintings by classically-trained Russian artist, Stanislav Sidorov. Look for the animal-themed recycled metal sculptures in the window. 970-577-8100, EarthwoodGalleries.com(opens in new tab).
Patterson Glassworks Studio & Gallery has their studio right in their store. See how each piece is made, the types of glass used, and the variety of pieces that are created. Shop in their store for all hand-made items such as glasses, dishware, and other decorative options. 970-586-8619, GlassworksofEstesPark.com(opens in new tab).
Celebrating 50 years, the Village Goldsmith team has created unique, timeless, and sentimental pieces. Find one-of-a-kind fine jewelry, or design your own. Their Estes Park Range Ring is 14K yellow and white gold with the entire front range encompassing the band. Add engraving or accent your favorite peak with a diamond. 970-586-5659, VillageGoldsmith.com(opens in new tab).
Photographers
Visit the Images of RMNP in downtown Estes Park, where you’ll find stunning artwork of Rocky Mountain National Park. You’ll also find Erik Stensland’s photo-filled award-winning books, including his latest, The Journey Beyond: Learning to Live Beautifully in a Troubled World. 970-586-4352, ImagesofRMNP.com(opens in new tab).
Award-winning photographer Dawn Wilson sells fine art prints of Colorado’s wildlife and wild lands.
Book a tour with her to learn how to capture your own stunning image that you will treasure for a lifetime. 970-567-6109, DawnWilsonPhotography.com(opens in new tab).
Take home a memorable image from James Frank Photography. Specializing in the Rocky Mountains, James has created images of Colorado for more than 40 years. Visit Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, located on Elkhorn Avenue, or order online by visiting JamesFrank.com(opens in new tab).
Art around Town
While walking around Estes Park, you will see many forms of art from many talented artists like murals, bronze sculptures, photography, or Artist Monte Michener's life-size horses made from found materials seen along the river on Moraine Avenue at Elements of Touch. These pieces of art represent Estes Park’s history and the personality of the area.
Artist Displays in Local Businesses
Many of the local businesses display and sell local artist’s work. Look on the walls of Kind Coffee and the craft beverage establishments, as they all have a rotating gallery of many local artists and jewelry for sale. Keep your eyes open as local art is all around you.
Studio Tour
The best way to learn about the local artists is to visit them in person where they are creating their art by attending the 10th Annual Estes Park Art Studio Tour held August 15-16.
Nineteen local artists will open their home studios to demonstrate their fine art and craft process including: woodturning, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, oil painting, photography, pastels, stained glass, mosaic, sacred garden sculptures, and more.
This is a fun event as you can pick which studio and artist to visit. Some locations are right off the highway, others are up a dirt road. The best part about our tour is that everything is within a 10-mile radius.
Go to EstesParkArtTour.com for details and their interactive map.
Cool Art Events
We have listed all the many wonderful art events in our Calendar of Events section(opens in new tab).