Artist Brooke Burgee showing at Loaded Joe's

AVON - At 28, local artist Brooke Burgee has experienced more than the average 60-year-old, but with her young face and innocent approach to life, no one would ever know it.

She's worked for a U.S. senator, trampled through the back brush of Peru and subsequently was healed by an Inca Shaman with stones. She's earned certification with the outdoor group NOLS, as well as formally studied environmental science, law and entrepreneurship at the university level. She started her own business Lights On in Vail, which landed her on the front of the New York Times - just to rattle off a few of her accomplishments.

"I like challenges," Burgee said. "I'm a Jack of all trades, master of none. I take on a lot of different things because I need that kind of sustenance. I want to be remembered for what I've created and contributed to the world, not just for my job."

But fortunately for the art-loving public, her experiences and true passion culminate in her paintings: a sculptural and vibrant journey of acrylic and palette knives. Color rules her work. In some paintings, color represents youth, in others, colors represents tough times or home and safety. Her style is rich with color, thick in texture and full of abstract treasures.

"It's a reflection of people's emotion's to color," she said. "I want each person to find their own meaning in my work, I certainly find mine."

Today, Burgee is at Loaded Joe's for an artist reception from 6-8 p.m. Her work will hang for most of January. She is also represented in Columbia, Mo., at the gallery Poppy, which is consistently rated a top 100 contemporary gallery in the country. Burgee had been driving cross country in a Lincoln Town Car, towing a Uhaul, when the transmission died in Columbia. So she decided to try and sell her work. The owner Barbara McCormick was more than receptive.

"Brooke's work is virtually sculpture on canvas, inspired by her creativity and imagination, not emulation of others," McCormick said. "It's jaw-dropping three-dimensional quality is accomplished using palette knives in place of brushes with a flare for color that adds brilliance to its dimensionality."

Most of Burgee's work is signed "Oz" instead of her namesake. She earned the moniker on a solo trip along the Long Trail from Vermont to New Hampshire across the spine of the Green Mountains. It is customary for "through hikers" to bestow trail names on fellow adventurers, and after meeting a Wizard and Munchkins, it was natural Burgee would become Oz.

Meet the artist What: Artist reception with Brooke "Oz" Burgee When: 6-8 p.m. Friday Where: Loaded Joe's in Avon Information: Call 748-1480 or view Burgee's Web site at www.iamoz.com

"That trip was a huge sense of empowerment and self accomplishment," Burgee said. "I never felt so invigorated, and I wanted to express that by signing my artwork 'Oz.' It's such a reflection of experience and possibility as well."

In March, Burgee travels to New York City for the Artexpo New York to exhibit a solo show. The works hanging at Loaded Joe's is a preview of the New York show.

"Artexpo New York is the world's largest fine and popular art fair, attracting more than 500 exhibitors and nearly 40,000 attendees every year," said KC McKenna of the expo. "Over its 29-year history, Artexpo New York has hosted a number of artists that have gone on to become internationally renowned artists, including Andy Warhol, Peter Max, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Indiana, and many others."