This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Medium Blue), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche jersey is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Colorado Avalanche uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Colorado Avalanche products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Tino Paolini for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd. 1995-96 was a Stanley Cup winning season for the Colorado Avalanche.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by the National Hockey League unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by the NHL. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

1995-96As the Stanley Cup playoffs began in April 1995 Nordiques president Marcel Aubut announced he needed financial assistance from the Provincial Government to keep the team operating in Quebec for the following season.  The financial landscape of the NHL had changed as a result of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement established by the league and its players that ended a lockout of the players. As a result of the lockout the 1994-95 season was reduced to 48 games.The Nordiques, already playing in an outdated facility, struggled to find revenue streams that would keep the team in Quebec City. The troubles were too much for Aubut to overcome and there would be no help coming from the Provincial Government of Quebec. On May 16th 1995 the Quebec Nordiques played its final game, a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden that knocked them out of the playoffs. Nine days later the Nordiques ownership group reached an agreement with COMSAT Entertainment of Denver Colorado, then on July 1st it was made official. It was au revoir la belle province and hello Rocky Mountains.Now situated in Denver the team was renamed the Colorado Avalanche. This marked the return of NHL hockey to the Mile High City since the Colorado Rockies packed up and moved to New Jersey to become the Devils in 1982.The Avalanche had an amazing inaugural season. They were already recognized as a very strong team having won the Adams Division previous year. Their lineup boasted the best 1-2 centre combination since Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier in Edmonton, Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. Then some clever mid-season wheeling and dealing by General Manager Pierre Lacroix made the team even more formidable. He acquired Claude Lemieux from New Jersey in a three-way deal. Then he sent power forward Owen Nolan to San Jose for defenceman Sandis Ozolinsh, but the biggest move made was the acquisition of 2-time Conn Smythe trophy winner Patrick Roy and veteran centre Mike Keane from the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs dealt Roy just four days after a public falling-out with coach Mario Tremblay. In return they received goalie Jocelyn Thibault, forwards Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.After the Christmastime trade with the Habs the Avalanche really began to roll. In their first season in the Western Conference they won the Pacific Division title with a 47-25-10 record, good enough for second place overall in the NHL.In the playoffs the Avs met the Vancouver Canucks in the opening round. The teams exchanged victories over the first four games, then a Joe Sakic scored in OT in Game 5 to give the Avalanche a 3-2 series lead. The OT goal also provided the Avs with the series momentum as they took Game 6 3-2 in Vancouver to win the series. Their second round opponents were the Chicago Blackhawks. Once again, Sakic was the hero in overtime scoring in the 3rd overtime of Game 4 as the Avalanche evened their series with the Chicago.  The dramatic win would have a snowball effect as the Avalanche won the next 2 to take the series in 6 games. In the Campbell Conference Finals the Avalanche met the Detroit Red Wings. This series might be best remembered for hostility that developed between the two clubs after Claude Lemieux crosschecked Wings forward Kris Draper from behind into the boards. Drapers face was badly injured and he would not return to play in the series.  After jumping out to a 3-1 series lead the Avalanche were able to hold on and win the series 4 games to 2. Now after all of the years of coming close while in Quebec, the Avalanche were now in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.Their opponents in the Finals were the upstart Florida Panthers who, led by coach Doug McLean, shocked the Eastern Conference by knocking off the Bruins, Flyers and Penguins to get the fourth and final round of the playoffs. But the Avalanche were ready for the Panthers and won the Stanley Cup in a 4-game sweep. Game 4 was won on a dramatic goal scored by D Uwe Krupp four minutes into the third overtime period.When the team moved to Denver they introduced brand new uniforms. The Avalanche adopted a two-tone colour scheme for their road uniform where the shoulders and waistline a blue (a similar blue to what was used in Quebec) and the torso of the jersey is burgundy red.  The logo is a burgundy A with snow on its peak with a rush of snow spiraling down its slope.  The body of the jersey is trimmed with white and black and this version has a Stanley Cup patch on the front of the left shoulder.