Andy Baranovic is hoping to make his Sidewalk Sandwich Co. more than just a place people can go for good eats and coffees when they're downtown -- he wants to turn it into a showcase for local artists.

"Initially I wanted to get a good rotation of art, just because I had grown up with a lot of people who are artists, and a lot of them had problems displaying their work," Baranovic said. "In a way I wanted to fill that for them, and being an art fan myself, I like to see a good variety of art."

Since the restaurant opened in January 2004, Baranovic has been displaying assorted works by local artists on the walls. The art also is available for purchase. It adds to the atmosphere of the place as not just an eatery but a haven for the arts (Sidewalk also has featured acoustic open mics).

In the past, displaying the art was somewhat haphazard.

"Initially I just kind of had five or six artists giving me pieces, and I'd hang them as I could, but you get such a jumbled collection that sometimes it doesn't go together -- it clashes," Baranovic explained. "I decided to go down to two artists, one per room, and it kind of showcases their work -- their style."

By showcasing only two artists, he hopes to create a consistent ambiance in each of the establishment's rooms -- something akin to the featured exhibits that open in local art galleries every month.

Just this week, walls of the restaurant were covered with the works of Jake Wells, a recent graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, and James Parker, a retiree and founding director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Museum at the university.

Visitors to the Sidewalk Sandwich Co. immediately will notice the bold, colorful works of Parker, who creates in a medium he calls "stitcheries." They are representations of natural objects, made of stitched fabric and set against a background of canvas.

These works aren't realism -- instead they appear like a still-life as seen not through the physical sense of sight but through the mind's eye. Butterflies and flowers in brilliant reds flare against bright orange and green backgrounds, accented with gold leaf.

A magnified print of stylized dandelions shows every thread, every accent of the stitchery. Some stitchery pieces are accented with small, rounded mirrors, which add depth to the already three-dimensional effect of the threads rising off the canvas.

In the other room hangs the oil and acrylic paintings of Wells, whose work, like Parker's, concentrates on natural themes but stays away from direct representation. Wells said he gets his inspiration from landscapes, but what comes out is abstract.

"I paint landscape because I find it is full of natural, aesthetically pleasing form," Wells explained in his artist statement. "Then I use representation to create a reality but take abstract liberties to personalize the scene."

In one piece, stark, bare tree trunks contrast with a spectrum of color on the ground. Another piece, "Foothills," is made up of two panels, the larger one with bright blue sky lighting a curved horizon of green hills. The patterns blend into the smaller panel, which stands in contrast with dark purples, almost as if the viewer can see night passing over the earth.

The pieces in the gallery vary in price, depending on the size of the work.

Baranovic said the art has been a popular thing so far, and he plans to keep using his restaurant not only as a place to serve sandwiches, soups and salads, but as a cultural site.

"Everybody who walks in the door geeks out over it, honestly," said Baranovic. "Everybody has to walk around the whole restaurant in awe. Everybody loves it."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182