GOLDEN, Colo. — It just seems like it’s made for this time of year.
The trees lining its main drag, Washington Avenue, are all lit up. The small town looks like something straight out of a Hallmark movie. And painter Natalie Smith is part of that vibe.
“People are just generally nice here and they treat you like you’re family,” Smith said. “That’s something that kinda resonates with me and makes me feel like I’m at home.”
She added to the hominess with her window art. It’s an old-time art form that runs generations deep in her family. Her grandmother and aunts started a window-painting business decades ago.
“It is something that’s special in my heart—my grandma is 99 years old and she started when she was 41,” Smith said. “When you do the math, it’s been awhile.”
Local artist continues window painting family tradition this holiday season
Smith and her aunts and cousins from all over the western United States carry on this tradition.
It’s especially popular this time of year, with their vintage-looking Christmas characters. Smith said it’s always been a way to make a little extra money during the holidays.
“It doesn’t feel like Christmas unless you’re window painting,” Smith said. “Whenever I open up a new can of paint, it smells like Christmas.”
Smith’s grandma quit painting just a handful of years ago, but is still a big inspiration to the 32-year-old artist.
“I do feel like I’m carrying on my grandma's legacy,” Smith said. “My grandma taught me to be a confident woman.”
When the pandemic first began, Smith said she wondered if business would slow down. She said it’s been the busiest year yet. One of her clients, Lele Archangel, who is the general manager of The Golden Rock Shop, was excited about her storefront’s transformation.
“This is really exciting--it’s going to be really welcoming for everybody,” Archangel said. “I find Golden is a very family-friendly town, and it just makes it look like a happy kind of place to be.”
Smith said she’s finding that window art is a dying art, but she is determined to keep her family business alive.
“It’s not going to be a dying art because of my family,” Smith said. “It’s something my cousins do and something I’ll teach my children and it’ll be something carried on through the end of time in our family as long as we can.”
Check out more of Natalie’s window art on her website.
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