Colorado Art Lab Art Classes in Denver
Anya McManis with award at Castle Rock Art Fest

Anya McManis - Artist Statement

Anya McManis is an abstract painter living and working in Denver, Colorado. For her mixed media paintings on panel, she uses ink and watercolor in unexpected ways, adding accents with acrylic, handmade paper, and gold leaf.

Each painting is the result of a dynamic process during which objects emerge, are partially painted over, or merely left as glimpsed fragments. The finished piece is a complex tapestry of layers and textures.

She draws inspiration from the southwestern landscape and often incorporates tribal imagery and symbolism into her work. Her powerful abstract interpretations of these impressions invite us to look beyond the surface and engage with the deeper, more subtle aspects of our environment.

Art Festival Booth for Anya McManis

Bio

Award winning artist, Anya McManis, has spent the past 25 years working in visual media of some sort, including commercial graphic design and web design. This work deepened her understanding of composition, layout and color and inspired her to delve into the world of fine art.

McManis’s work has been shown in numerous professional galleries, including at the Artwork Network Gallery and Niza Knoll Gallery in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe. She had seven solo shows at the University of Denver from 2011-2019 and participated in numerous group shows, among others at the Aurora Municipal Center, in Aurora CO, the Tri-Lake Center for the Arts in Palmer Lake, CO, the R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the WATER FOR LIFE International Art Exhibition at the Niagara Falls History Museum in Canada, and the Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy.

From 2012 to 2013, McManis had her own gallery and studio in Olde Town Arvada, CO. Currently, she works out of her studio in Denver where she also teaches art classes. 

In addition to painting, McManis also runs her creative agency, AMCS Marketing.

2024 ART FESTIVAL CALENDAR

More to come soon… stay tuned!

Park Hill  Arts Festival
June 1 & 2, 2024

Highlands Art Festival 
June 8 & 9, 2024

Broadmoor Traditions Fine Art Festival 
July 6 & 7, 2024

Affordable Arts Festival 
August 25, 2024

PREVIOUS SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS

Park Hill Fall Arts Festival
Sep 30 & Oct 1, 2023

Castle Rock Art Fest
September 9 & 10, 2023 | 1st Place Mixed Media

Affordable Arts Festival 
August 27, 2023

Smash Fine Arts Festival Cherry Creek
August 12 & 12, 2023

Fort Collins Art Festival 
August 5 & 6, 2023

Silverthorne Arts Festival 
July 14 – 16, 2023

Park Hill Arts Festival Denver
June 3 & 4, 2023

Fine Arts & Crafts Festival Estes Park
September 17-18, 2022

Castle Rock Art Fest
September 10-11, 2022

Boulder Fine Art Street Festival at Twenty Ninth Street
July 30 – 31, 2022

Affordable Arts Festival
On the Campus of Arapahoe Community College
August 28, 2022

R Gallery – Boulder
February 23 – March 27, 2022

40 West Arts – Colorado Mills Mall 
February 1 – June 4, 2022

Vail Arts Festival
June 18 – 20, 2021

Colorado Women’s College | University of Denver
SOLO SHOW
August 2 – September 27, 2019

Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts
Palmer Lake, CO
June 22 – August 23, 2019

WATER WISE
Aurora Municipal Center
April 1 – May 31, 2019

Colorado Women’s College | University of Denver
SOLO SHOW
November 5 – November 30, 2018

Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts
Palmer Lake, CO
June 23 – August 25, 2018

WATER FOR LIFE International Art Exhibition
Niagara Falls History Museum – Canada
May 12 – September 8, 2018

Colorado Women’s College | University of Denver
SOLO SHOW
February 1 – March 31, 2016

Anti Defamation League
Denver, CO | April 19, 2016

Colorado Women’s College | University of Denver
SOLO SHOW
June 1 – July 31, 2015

The Mix @ Niza Knoll Gallery
May 1, 2014 – December 31, 2015
Denver, Colorado

The Savoy
Denver, CO
April 12, 2014 – April 19, 2014

One: En Masse
Denver, CO
April 4, 2014 – May 31, 2014

Kingman Estates Winery | Denver, Colorado
September 18 – May 31, 2014

Colorado Women’s College | University of Denver
SOLO SHOW
June 4 – July 31, 2013

Spellbound Art
Arvada, Colorado
March 2012 – June 2013

Colorado Women’s College | University of Denver
SOLO SHOW
June 1 – July 31, 2011

Florence Biennale
Florence, Italy
December 3 – 10, 2011

Artwork Network
Santa Fe Art District, Denver, Colorado
May 2010

Vitahl Spa
SOLO SHOW
Cherry Creek North – Denver, Colorado
July 2010

Gallery Cuvee
Santa Fe Art District, Denver, Colorado
January – August 2008