The 106th annual Winter Carnival poster features the artwork created by Steamboat Springs artist Lance Whitner. (Courtesy photo)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — In an effort to promote art and athletics in the community, Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty once again commissioned a Steamboat Springs artist to create a commemorative poster to help promote the 106th annual Winter Carnival.

Lance Whitner was chosen as this year’s poster artist, and her poster reflects the theme of this year’s event, “Blast of Winter,” in vibrant colors.

“Lance was selected as this year’s artist because her work is full of color, very ‘alive’ and is an excellent representation of the energy and excitement of Winter Carnival,” said Traci Smith, director of marketing for Sotheby’s. “We try to select artists whose work and style varies from year to year, and it is always fun to see how each artist’s perspective on Winter Carnival is interpreted into their piece.”

Commemorative posters become collectables with proceeds from their sale benefiting the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

Whitner is known for her work that infuses elements of the natural world, and sometimes, scenes right outside the windows of her downtown studio.

“I thought about this event, and how it’s about skiing and the Winter Sports Club and decided I wanted to elevate the athletes in this painting, only I don’t paint people,” Whitner said. “That’s when I thought, ‘OK, I’ll do it from the perspective of the athlete.’”

To get this perspective, Whitner hiked to the top of the 90-meter ski jump on historic Howelsen Hill to create her initial sketches.

She focused on the Nordic jumps as the subject of her painting, because she said it’s something that’s unique to Steamboat and tied in with the history of the Winter Sports Club and the Winter Carnival festivities overall.

“The feel I was going for was the fun, the chaos of the evening and the celebration of skiing, so there was a lot going on in this painting, but that’s what I wanted,” Whitner said.

Steamboat artist Lance Whitner stands next to her artwork featured in this year’s Winter Carnival poster. (Courtesy photo)

The poster depicts a skier at the top of the Howelsen Hill ski jump before skiing down through the fiery hoop during the traditional Night Extravaganza.

“For me, it was nice to come full circle and do something for the club in this way,” said Whitner, whose children learned how to ski through SSWSC. “I wanted to celebrate the athletes and the community coming together, because to me, that’s so much about what the Winter Carnival is about.”

Whitner’s original artwork was auctioned off during the Stars at Night fundraiser, raising $8,000 for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Thirty limited edition, signed, numbered and framed prints of the poster will also be sold by Sotheby’s for $300 each, with all proceeds going to the Winter Sports Club. In addition, 25 framed, numbered and signed giclee prints were made, and currently, only five prints are left.

Poster prints are $10 each and available for purchase at Off the Beaten Path, Lyon Drug, Freshies Restaurant, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club offices at Howelsen Hill, Pine Moon Fine Art Gallery and Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty office at Wildhorse Marketplace.

A poster signing session with Whitner will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Steamboat Sotheby’s downtown office on Ninth Street.

To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1.