"Golden Colorado"
by Craig Fairbert

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Craig Fairbert was born and raised in Milton, Wisconsin. He received an associate’s degree from Madison Area Technical College (MATC) in Commercial Art. During these years, Craig’s art knowledge increased with courses specializing in layout, color theory, multiple mediums including oil paint, colored pencil, water color, pen and ink.

After graduating from MATC in 1991, Craig became a mural painter for Adam’s Billboards in Madison, Wisconsin. Craig hand painted over 700 billboards throughout the Madison area and the billboards averaged 14 ft x 40 ft. With increasing computer technology, hand painted billboards became a thing of the past and Craig accepted a job with a screen print company in Northern Wisconsin in 1998.

Craig loves the outdoors, hunting and fishing. The new job in Northern Wisconsin was a perfect fit for Craig. Artisans is a family owned screen print company that produces apparel for men, women and children for stores such as Cabela’s, Gander Mountain, Ducks Unlimited, and several resort areas throughout the country. Craig mostly designs wildlife renderings for the clothing, specializing in elk, deer, bear, eagles and fish.

In 2004, Craig started entering his paintings in state contests. He has been very successful in these contests and has received several awards. He won the 2005 Wisconsin Great Lakes Trout stamp, 2007 Wisconsin Inland Trout stamp, 2008 Wisconsin Great Lakes Trout Stamp, 2008 Wisconsin Pheasant Stamp, and 2009 Wisconsin Turkey Stamp.

Craig, being an avid bow hunter, always had a desire to hunt elk. In the fall of 2000 he made his first trip to Colorado. Although not successful that year, he knew he would return to try his luck again. He would return for the next six years to the Steamboat Springs area. He and his wife Maria, hope to move to Colorado once their children are off to college. Craig is also just putting the finishing touches on the illustrations for a children’s book (Three Cubby Bears) - written by Grand Junction, Colorado native, Rene’e Creasey.