The lovely lineup starts with tonight's opening reception for mural and portrait artist Patrick McGregor. While you're looking at his solo show, Immortalized, you can also pick up a hand-painted love note for your sweetheart made by the gallery owners themselves.
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McGregor has made his reputation painting not just billboards, but entire sides of buildings. He spends long days painstakingly painting better-than-photo-quality portraits of sports stars, movie posters and all kinds of other ad campaigns all over America.
In Denver, his most recognizable work might be the portrait of Pete Contos on the side of Pete's Satire Lounge. Originally from Denver, McGregor recently returned here, and hopes to see more of his work around town soon. "Murals are my specialty," says McGregor. "I'd like to get more walls all over Denver to paint some awesome stuff on."
In an effort to combat graffiti, Brushstrokes commissioned McGregor to paint a mural on the outside of gallery this summer. The piece features McGregor himself, painting a view into the gallery. "There have been so many people who drive by who think Patrick is out painting on that scaffolding in short sleeves in this weather, " says Brushstrokes artist Kelly Berger. "It's hilarious."The work in Immortalized is a little bit of everything that McGregor has been doing. "I'm just a billboard artist trying to put his talent on canvas," he says. The show includes incredibly detailed portraits of dogs and humans, as well as landscapes. He's done larger-than-life portraits of his English bulldog, and those have gotten him some good commissions to paint other pets.
Also for the upcoming holiday of love, Berger along with fellow gallery artists John K. Harrell, Kit Hevron Mahoney and Anita Mosher will present FINE heART: Petite Paintings for Your Valentine, a display of what Berger calls "daily paintings," available at affordable pieces for Valentine's Day. They will also offer hand-painted wooden gift certificates in any amount to use toward buying any piece in the gallery.
The reception for Immortalized runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 7, at Brushstrokes Studio-Gallery, 1487 South Broadway. McGregor will be at the gallery from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 8. For more information, visit Brushstrokesstudio.com.
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