PHOTOS: July Casper Art Walk Puts the ‘Art’ in ‘Block Party’

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for.

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Though the first official Art Walk took place last month, it was the July Art Walk that really signaled the beginning of the summer season. Businesses from all across Downtown Casper let their sweat soak through the floor, along with some blood and tears, as they worked to put on an event that would be truly great.

Several Downtown Casper businesses opened their doors to the public, including Frontier Brewing, ART 321, Scarlow's Gallery, Art, & Coffee, The Bourgeois Pig, and more.

Live music happened all over Downtown, including the aforementioned Frontier Brewing (featuring Zach Schommer), David Street Station (featuring Burning Bridges and Pandas & People), and Rock the Block (Featuring Rogue Radio). These venues were providing the soundtrack to this summer evening and crowds responded in kind.

And, of course, ART 321 featured a wide-array of art and artists.

James Overstreet is one of those artists.

Overstreet is a resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming and he received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in 2017.

"I started college back in 2010," Overstreet told K2 Radio News. "Before that, I've been doing art all my life, but I didn't start taking it seriously until about 2009-ish. It was just me and some buddies. We'd meet up after skateboarding all day and we were all fascinated by painting and we would just paint all night."

Overstreet said that he wanted to learn more about art history and he wanted to "learn the basics," so he went to LCCC in Cheyenne, before getting a scholarship to join the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design.

When asked where the inspiration for his art came from, he said that it actually comes from the elements themselves.

"So, if you look at it, all subject matter is different," he said. "Like, I go from video games to toys to these representational self portraits. For me, it's about the paint. It's about the exploration of paint. It's about learning new techniques and exploring. I'm an explorer. This is like my Star Trek, you know? It's my final frontier."

Overstreet said that he's lived in many different towns and he's amazed by the art community in Casper.

"I will say, right now, I'm impressed with Casper in general, and in how beautiful it his," he beamed. "When I walked into this, I thought I was coming into a little gallery space. I didn't realize I was walking into a rock star gallery. This is unbelievable. And, like, leep going. For artists like me, who have lived in Wyoming for a long time, it gives us a better venue than those that just do Western art. Now we can branch out, because we have ART 321."

And that's what ART 321, and the Art Walk in general, tries to do with each event. They want to give artists a chance to be wholly, fully, themselves. Tyler Cessor, the Executive Director of ART 321 wants to offer a space, a canvas, to artists to truly put out something that represents who they are, whomever they are. It is inclusive, it is diverse, and it's just. so. cool.

As is the Art Walk. There are just a few more Art Walks left this season, but if they're anything like this one, they are guaranteed to put the 'Art' in 'Block Party.' And they will continue to prove that when it comes to art and artists in Downtown Casper, this is the greatest show.

Photos of July's Casper Art Walk can be seen below: