Artist Bios Archives - Spirits in the Wind Gallery

Scot Fitzgerald

Growing up in rural Colorado, Scot Fitzgerald spent countless hours out enjoying the wonders of the natural world. His fascination with rocks actually led him to a career in chemistry. His professional life has been as an analytical chemist specializing in radiochemistry in the Pacific Northwest, however his heart has remained solidly in the southwest. Over the years Scot has enjoyed woodworking of all kinds and lapidary work (using stones to make jewelry). These hobbies naturally progressed to doing stone inlays in wood turnings which perfectly blends his two loves. Part of the process that Scot appreciates is hiking to find and harvest the wonderful materials he uses. Examples of these include fallen trees and gem stones that he can dig for himself. Scot then combines his abilities of perfection in quality with creativity in design. Natural voids in the wood are filled with stone precisely fitted to their individual openings and each bowl receives a minimum of 20 hand rubbed coats of finish. Like his father Richard Fitzgerald (well known and award winning wood turner), Scot’s designs reflect the southwest Anasazi pottery and culture. Although he prefers to use material that he can harvest in person, he also uses a variety of exotic wood and stone. Scot has long done custom work for friends and family, but now that his father has retired, he is offering his talents to the public.

Scots bowls are a labor of love that demands time and attention to detail. Each one has over 20 coats of hand rubbed finish and sanding between coats.

Wood Vases

SF1-22 Apricot wood and Zooisite (which is a beautiful green mineral with black swirls) 6.6″x 8.5″ $1130

SF1-28 Mulberry wood vase with natural top 5 3/4” x 5 1/8” $1310

SF1-27 Bocote and African Blackwood 4 ½” x 6 ¼” $600

SF1-30 Cherry and Sodalite with natural edge finish 6 ½” x 6 7/8” $1200

SF1-29 Black Walnut, Maple and Calcite 4 ½ “ x 7 ¾” $1310

SF1-21 Maple and Black Palm 5 ½” x 9 ¼” $1200

SF1-24 Mohagany and CO Aspen 2 1/4″x $3/4″ $200

SF1-31 Mesquite and Malachite inlay 6 7/8″x 8 3/8″ $1450

SF1-36 Black Walnut and Chrysocolla 5 1/2″x 8″ $950

Victoria Leen and Austin Nichols

Dawn M. Kloba

Cher Devereaux

Cher Devereaux grew up in Colorado with a passion for horses and art. She has been painting and drawing since she was a small child and through her personal journey of self discovery has developed her style over the years, drawing inspiration from the horses in her life and the beautiful nature around her. She is primarily a self-taught artist and has been influenced and empowered from studying and working with other local artists.

“I have always felt a connection to horses. They emit grace, beauty, passion, and a driving inspiration for me. Through my art I love to capture and interpret the emotions of that connection through the use of line and color.”

Her work has been collected by art lovers residing in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

CD1-05 Trio, canvas wrap Acrylic 15×30 $700

CD1-04 Family Gathering, canvas wrap Acrylic 30×40 $2000

CD1-Breakthrough, canvas wrap Acrylic 30×40 $2400

CD1-06 Red Horse Black Horse, canvas wrap Acrylic 2 Panel 32×40 $2000

CD1-02 Determination, canvas wrap Acrylic 32×42 $2400

CD1- 07 -Watching and Waiting, canvas wrap Acrylic 30×48 $2500

Nikki Nienhuis

Nikki Nienhuis

Artist Statement

Much of my work comes after meditation, writing and contemplation. I create paintings in all varieties- oil, acrylic, mixed media (I love old paper collage), charcoal and ink. I use saturated and muted color combinations along with a lot of touchable texture. I write an intention, poem, lyrics or an affirmation on the base layer that is sometimes still visible in the finished piece. Each subsequent brush stroke sets the message within, increasing the vibrational energy to enable my own healing, joy and peace. Basically, as I paint over the words, I continue to consider them and as I move (painting is a very active process), my energy improves, I feel inspired, and basically my mood and my day feel in alignment with my dreams and desires. That’s the healing aspect of art. Painting is like going into meditation for several hours. I focus on allowing the painting to tell it’s own story, often not knowing the deeper meaning until long after it’s finished. That’s the beauty of art, you can see something new in it everytime you look.

You can read and see a lot more about my process at www.nikkinienhuis.com/about.

Nikki Nienhuis (Golden, CO) was born and raised on the front range of Colorado, where she spent her childhood exploring the surrounding woods, creeks and mesas. After college, she enjoyed 20+ years working in healthcare sales and spent over 10 of those studying at the Art Students’ League of Denver in her free time. In January of 2018, Nikki quit her corporate job to focus on her art practice. She regularly exhibits her work across Colorado. She currently sits as Chair of Foothills Art Center’s Open Studio Group. She was awarded Best Use of Medium at the Golden Arts Week Paint Out in 2018, and more recently, she was the recipient of the Dr Ph. Martin Award at Golden Arts Week Plein Air Event, 2019. Her work is included in the publication “Demystifying the Artist: 27 Artists Discuss What it Really Means to Be An Artist” (Trier, Elinor, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 1st edition 2018, p78-82), and she has been written about in Voyage Denver, the Golden Transcript, Summit Daily News and has been interviewed on Fox31 Denver.

Available for your consideration:

Thank you Universe 30×30 Acrylic on Board NN1-03 $2500.00

Thank you Universe 30×30 Enhanced Giclée #3/50 NN1-04 $1500

Thank you Universe 16×16 signed Print # 3/50 NN1-05 $400

Gregory Mayse

Gregory Mayse

Being surrounded by the majestic landscapes,

wildlife and western culture of the Rocky Mountains

has had a tremendous influence on the life and art of Gregory Mayse.

Gregory is the owner of Wolf River Studio in Fort Collins, Colorado.

He has always been attracted to realism in art and it is reflected in his painting style.

His works are showcased in storytelling pieces that could be about a moment in the day of a cowboy, Native American or mountain man. They can also capture the energy of a wild mustang racing across the landscape.

For the past 20 years, he has loved living in northern Colorado. Gregory has

applied his skills as a professional photographer, painter, graphic designer, writer,

and illustrator to a well-rounded 35 year creative career.

For the past several years, Gregory has spent time traveling to photograph cowboys, Native Americans, ranchers, period reenactors and models dressed in 1800’s clothing and gear replicating the Old West. He uses these as reference images for his paintings.

His works hang in the homes of collectors across the country. They have been juried into national fine art shows and used for covers of publications.

Primarily a self-taught artist, some of his inspirations and influences have been in the

works of Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, John Seerey-Lester, Howard Terpning, Carl Rungius and Bill Hughes. In recent years Gregory has studied with Dave Santillanes, Heather Coen, Kate Dardine and Jeanne Mackenzie.

Nikki Nienhuis

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