Local artist Jim Aiken is this year's Breckenridge Music Festival commemorative poster contest winner with his acrylic piece, “Breckenridge Jambalaya,” a colorful montage of historic buildings and the ski resort's Freeway terrain park framed in the outline of violin. Posters can be purchased from the BMF, and Aiken's original artwork will be auctioned on Friday, July 29 at Rockin' in the Rockies, the 31st annual Gala to benefit the BMF presented by the fundraising group, Applause!

This is the second time Jim Aiken has taken first place in the BMF's “Bach, Beethoven & Breckenridge” annual poster contest. A fascinating individual who lives at the intersection of art and science, Aiken is not only a lifelong artist but also the leader of the nonprofit Keystone Symposia on Cellular and Molecular Biology, based in Silverthorne.

“Scientists have to be really creative,” said Aiken, speaking of biologists in particular. “If you can be creative in one arena, you can be creative in another arena as well.”

His longstanding interest in art was a family affair, as his doctor-artist father enjoyed painting in oils and watercolors and his older brother, Bob, who “could draw like a wizard,” is an exhibiting artist in Vermont galleries to this day.

As a child, Aiken attended children's art classes taught by the renowned Vermont artist Francis Coburn at the Fleming Museum on the University of Vermont campus. He worked in crayon for his first juried exhibitions — the Burlington city-wide elementary shows of his first and second grade school years. In college he took many art classes while majoring in biology, and as a newlywed graduate student he sold paintings to supplement his “meager graduate student stipend.” In 1967 his piece, “Stone Barn,” was selected for the prestigious Northern Vermont Artist Association juried exhibition. He also held a joint show with his brother and father in the lobby of a Burlington bank.

Global influences

Art took a back seat to science for a few years after that, as Aiken devoted himself to scientific research uncovering disease mechanisms, during which time he traveled frequently and lived abroad twice, including two years in London and four years in Stockholm. Still, his passion for art remained, and traveling gave him “many opportunities to not only visit great museums but also to see a wealth of places for painting,” Aiken said. “My artistic activities were opportunistic, based on where I lived.”

While in Indianapolis, he participated in the Penrod Days outdoor art shows on the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Museum. While living in Michigan he spent time in the “wonderful studios” of the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, where he explored sculpture and other media. During that time he kindled an interest in carving working wooden duck decoys — which must not only must look like real ducks, but also right themselves when thrown into water so they float naturally. “They had to combine both art and function,” said Aiken, who won a few ribbons for his decoy work, too.

Light came back into Aiken's painting life, so to speak, in Stockholm, where he says, “The light at 60 degrees latitude north in both winter and summer is mesmerizing.” He held a solo show in Stockholm in 1999 and in 2003 moved to Breck with his wife, Sue. “Now, living in Breckenridge, Colorado at 9,700 feet altitude, I have another experience with unique light that keeps my imagination tuned.”

In addition to acrylic paintings primarily featuring landscapes or sunlight effects, Aiken paints portraits and whimsical scenes “that sometimes make good posters,” as is the case with the 2011 BMF poster, which will be auctioned at the BMF benefit gala along with things like dinner for eight in your home from the Colorado Mountain College Culinary Institute;, the opportunity to conduct the BMF; a heli ski trip in British Columbia; and artwork, clothing, jewelry, home accessories and dining.

To see more paintings by award-winning artist Jim Aiken, head to the Ridge Street Wine/Breckenridge Cheese & Chocolate at 304 South Main Street.