John Sams had wanted an art show for a long time and said it was luck, and being in the right place at the right time, that brought a show and two artists together.

Many creative minds met at Deck the Walls on Saturday for the store’s first art show featuring local artists Jeff Sadowski and Tom Noll.

Sams said Deck the Walls monitor what art pieces are brought in by customers to be framed. When the two artists kept showing up, Sams paid attention. The show was helped along after Sadowski’s wife coming into the store and Noll and Sams meeting through a mutual friend.

Sams said that Sadowski and Noll were paired together, “to expose people to two different styles of art that are complimentary in a sense.”

Having moved out of Brookfield Square and to their new location on Meadowbrook Road in Waukesha last August, Sams, owner of Deck the Walls, felt that the store, and any shows they would have, would find more success outside of the mall.

That appears to be the case, judging from the constant stream of people that came in the doors between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The exhibit will be at Deck the Walls through Feb. 19.

Many pieces from Noll’s Rock Series were featured as well as Sadowski’s fantasy pieces.

Noll’s series consists of many musicians. He captures them immersed in their passion for their craft. The energy is captured in both the musician’s face and the background surrounding them.

“I am thrilled that people are inspired and get joy out of my work," Noll said. "I love seeing them connect with the emotion that each piece holds.”

Noll began by painting Bob Marley at the request of a friend and continued with more of his favorite musicians. He then searched out photographers and collaborated with them to paint from the images they captured. Other musicians he has featured include Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, Eric Clapton, John Lennon and B.B. King.

Sadowski categorizes his art as “pop surrealism.” He takes much of his inspiration from his own imagination and things from his childhood, including characters from sugary cereals and children’s shows from when he grew up,, he said.

He has been likened to Salvador Dali and said that he was painting melting clocks as a child before he even knew who Dali was. Now Dali is one of the artists he admires most. Sadowski wants people to take a "second look" at what they see.

"I feel we live in a world of short attention spans,” Sadowski said. “Having someone stand for 10 minutes in front of one of my paintings gives me great satisfaction, because it makes them think.

"... There have even been times when someone has shown me something that I didn't see that makes perfect sense.”

Ellen Lyon, a custom framer at Deck The Walls, echoed the same thing,

“I’m always awed by his (Sadowski’s) stuff," she said. "It never gets boring because there’s always new things you can find in it.”

Sadowski shared many stories behind his creations with those at the show. Noll is open to people’s suggestions for subjects, including entertaining an idea for a piece based on Frank Sinatra.

“I’m always keeping my ears and mind open,” Noll said.