Twenty-five feet in the air, balanced on metal planks and surrounded by the echo of an empty half-court gym, artist Kristen Zimmerman steadies her brush.

Around her, more than 1,500 square feet of wall curves around her client’s in-house basketball court. With each stroke of her paintbrush, black-and-white portraits of legendary athletes begin to emerge.

From Serena Williams mid-serve to Michael Jordan mid-air, their portraits are framed by bursts of color and motion.

It’s the kind of environment in which Zimmerman thrives.

Though Zimmerman said she’s been drawn to art since childhood, it wasn’t until after receiving her bachelor of arts degree from San Francisco State University that she settled in Denver, started a family and made artistry her full-time gig.

Yet some of her most transformative work didn’t begin with a blank wall or canvas; it began on the ground, moments after life quite literally knocked her down. 

In 2020, a serious biking accident left the muralist with multiple facial fractures and a concussion. As she recovered, deeper realizations emerged. 

“I lost my dad in 2009,” Zimmerman said. “Until my accident in 2020, I hadn’t really done all the work I needed to do to work on my grief. Being broken down both physically and mentally forced me to slow down completely and really reflect. Painting memorial portraits became a way for me to heal, and those pieces often end up being my most meaningful work because they’re rooted in real stories, love and memory.” 

In addition to her large-scale pieces, Zimmerman’s work includes logo design, greeting cards and custom artwork.

She created the website artforhue.com to showcase her art and connect with clients across the state.

“I feel the most like myself when I am painting,” she said. “It’s easy for me to spend time doing the thing that I love. Through my own personal growth, grief and hardships, I would say turning toward art has always been my form of therapy. It’s what I’m passionate about, and it’s very healing.”

Today, Zimmerman’s work appears in restaurants, commercial spaces and homes across Colorado and in other parts of the nation, including Nebraska and Florida.

“I enjoy doing what I do because I get to connect with the public and with my community,” she said. “Getting to connect with my clients, looking into their world, hearing about their story — it’s the relationships that I build that make me value my work so much.”

That connection begins long before paint ever touches a wall.

Zimmerman starts each project digitally, using the Procreate app to create detailed renderings on her iPad. She often provides her clients with multiple design options and scaled mock-ups so they can visualize the final piece in real size before installation begins, she said.

From there, technology helps bridge the gap between concept and execution.

She uses projection tools, like Apple Vision Pro, to map precise proportions onto the wall before sketching begins, ensuring accuracy before the hand-painted work takes over.

“How I approach a painting is very different now than when I first started,” Zimmerman said. “I no longer start with a white canvas. I build layers to get to the end result. I build values, the shadows and highlights, and then I add acrylic paint before I put oil paint. It’s a whole process now, but I’ve learned that even though it sounds like a lot of steps, it actually helps me get to the result a lot faster than when I first started.” 

As her portfolio has expanded, so has the scale of her partnerships, including multiple murals for Mendocino Farms, a sandwich restaurant with various locations across the country.

Her work can be seen at both Denver’s Cherry Creek and Highlands locations, transforming the space with large-scale murals that reflect the surrounding Colorado landscape.

“The whole point of us working with a local muralist is that we get to find somebody familiar to the area that still kind of embodies our vibe,” said Marissa McDaniel, Mendocino Farms director of brand. “She executed that beautifully, and bringing in some local flair to the space really made it personal to the community.”

The Highlands exterior mural features mountains layered with winding trails and bright colors, along with the brand’s signature blue cow mascot woven into the scene.

“It’s the focal piece of the restaurant,” McDaniel said. “You can’t miss it. Everyone who goes inside loves it, and the beautiful graphic was the centerpiece of our launch party.”

With projects growing in size and visibility, Zimmerman said she’s only just getting started. 

“The end goal is to try to reach as many people as I can in any way I can,” Zimmerman said. “For me, the human connection is really important. I love being able to touch people, whether it’s through a memorial piece or a community mural. In the future, I hope to challenge myself with the scale, continuously getting bigger and bigger with my projects.”