Featured Artist

Jimmy Strange – Aurora, CO

Jimmy Strange has always had a sincere passion for art. His art began at an early age with simple childhood doodles, but was thrown into high gear with his participation in an Advanced Placement art course during his senior year of high school. His outstanding grade-point average and dedication earned him an art scholarship to Bethany in Kansas, which he turned down to remain close to family and continue his education in the Denver Metro Area. In 1996, determined to forge a productive life of his own, Jimmy left his restored ’68 Volkswagen Beetle and high-school sweetheart to enlist as a private in the Army. Before he could fulfill his duty as field artillery soldier/tank driver in the Iraq War, however, he fell ill during basic training and received an honorable discharge (1996). His illness lasted several years, but his love of exercise, his family and his art helped him through a difficult journey to recovery and brought about a second phase of his life: sharing his art with others. Art therapy, along with a rollercoaster of life events including marriage, the birth of his son, divorce and the untimely death of his parents, helped motivate Jimmy to focus on his own art. He began to conceptualize his own art business in 2008 while participating in college art courses to refine his drawing style and business avenue. After receiving additional diplomas and a business degree, he finally received his business tax ID and began Full Blown Color Imagination in 2015. Jimmy Strange’s art is heavily influenced by the works of pop-artist Red Grooms as well as soft pastel work of Claude Monet. His works express feeling through color and portray ordinary subjects in a whimsical light, as evidenced by his method of layering intense color over a basic foundation. While he works in a wide variety of artistic media, Jimmy’s distinctive style focuses primarily on the use of oil pastel. His eclectic subject matter ranges from animals and sci-fi characters to the treasured Volkswagens he and his father worked together to restore. Jimmy now lives with his wife, Brandi, whom he married in 2016, along with his son Collin (11), his step-son Talan (13) and their two dogs, Dante and Lulu. His interests include collecting Native American art, writing, music, travelling, camping, boating and water-skiing, cycling, playing guitar, Star Wars, Transformers, and comics. You can find his work displayed throughout the Denver area, including through his regular contributions to music schools and organizations to show his passion for both music and the arts.