'Creating Is Important': Art Festival Provides Outlet For Artists

By Joel Hillan

DENVER (CBS4) - The Summer Art Market allowed all kinds of artists to showcase and sell their artwork near 1st Avenue and Logan Street in Denver on Sunday.

Jeff Russell works full-time at a travel company in Denver as a digital marketer.

In his spare time, Russell is a printmaker.

"I travel around the world, and I use those images from my travel experiences, the people I meet, in my artwork."

He learned the craft of printmaking in a class a couple of years ago at the Art Students League of Denver.

"So this really gave me a huge opportunity to just kind of find an outlet to be creative and stress reliever and like I said I have ink on my hands so I can't be on my phone and social media, so that was a fun kind of way to take that world and have something as an outlet or release from the day-to-day work life," said Russell.

The artwork is done out of a studio Russell shares with fellow artists Joe and Julie Scott.

"I just feel happy when I'm doing it, it's just an outlet for me. I feel at peace when I'm creating things," said Julie.

The three artists, although distinct in style, still challenge each other.

"Her [Julie] and her husband Joe really inspire me just because I think it really adds this collaboration and we bounce ideas off of one another; so, that's a really cool experience to have a team of people who will  really bring that out of you," said Russell.

"Creating is important. I think it's important for your spirit and for your happiness and whether you go out and have a booth on the street is irrelevant, I think the important thing is to create," said Julie.

LINK: Jeff Russell Artwork | Stuido Lupino

Joel Hillan anchors CBS4 This Morning on weekends as well as reports stories for CBS4 News at 5 and 6 p.m. Follow Joel on Twitter @joelhillan.