Ten years ago, after a hike to Gore Lake, Chelsea Spangler looked at one of the photos she had snapped and decided she wanted to try to paint it.
Within a few years, she had created a collection of images that capture the detail of Vail-area vistas so well they can be mistaken for photographs.
Through her job working on Vail Mountain, she got plenty of time to take in the scenes that would inform her art, but it was through her other line of work, as a nanny for local families, that word began to get around about her talent. Before long, she was getting commissions from local homeowners, with her work appearing on walls alongside well-established artists.
Spangler will debut her collection in the lobby of the Sitzmark Lodge in Vail Village on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in her first-ever solo exhibition. There will be wine and cheese available and Spangler will take questions and talk about her art.
Too see more, visit instagram.com/chelseaspanglerart/.