Category Archives: Denver

Swim

I think this should be my courage song: Swim Until You Can’t See Land

by Frightened Rabbit.

Really, could it get any more perfect?

I am a frightened rabbit as a matter of course.

I have made tremendous progress on what will probably be the largest painting in the show at a modest 40″ x 40″.

(How I envy those painters who routinely create 6′ x 6′ paintings or larger; I don’t know that my circumstances will ever allow for that.)

This is the red bull painting. The cabatisto, the Mexican wrestler.

With a little luck, I’ll have something worthy of a postcard by next week.

Deliriously happy that I’ve made it this far and still breathe.

Once in a blue moon

We are coming up on the second of two blue moons that we’ll have this year.

I don’t know what the odds are of having two blue moons in a year, and my geekery level isn’t high enough this evening to find out.

I’m too busy trying to paint a Mexican wrestler.

Good news- a trio of great shows at CORE New Art Space. Opening tomorrow with an artists’ reception on Friday evening, this show features three artists at different points in their careers, working in different genres.

All three are gifted and dedicated artists, and I recommend you come to see this show if you can.

My friend Claudia Roulier, is one of the three artists in this show. Claudia makes me feel like an underachiever; she is so prolific and talented, and her (often delightfully creepy) work is a must-see!

Snowstorm

in Denver, after a summery yesterday.

The space heater in my studio is working, and it’s lovely to paint in warmth and look out on the snow.

Making some progress on the beast painting.

Hope to have a pic soon.

Barco Negro

Wobbly day despite beautiful weather in Denver.

Enveloping melancholy.

This is an excellent movie.

A quiet film that speaks volumes about good, evil, the places in between, and the resiliency of the human spirit.

As I type “the resiliency of the human spirit” I realize it is a god-awful cliche but it’s useful because it’s precise.

I recommend “The Secret Life of Words.”

Tonight I listen to fado and gesso and try not to worry too much. I try.

Delight

I mistrust my own feelings of delight and have for several years, knowing that what goes up must come down.

But- I feel delighted nonetheless and the light is certainly changing in Denver. All at once, things are warmer and brighter and the arrival of spring seems certain. This has lifted my spirits considerably… I have cut forsythia branches and taken them inside to brighten the house within the next week or two. They are johnny-on-the-spot reliable when taken inside at this time of year; outside, it’s much iffier. Late freezes can kill all those hopeful buds.

I have a largish painting, a Cabatisto, on the easel and in the works this evening.

I have a smallish painting about earworms in the works as well.

It is Lent and that means something to me, though I’m not sure why.

I think of Lent, I guess, as the darkness before the dawn and a good time to exercise self-sacrifice- knowing that this must have as many meanings as there are souls out there.

(I haven’t smoked in two months. I think I smell fabulous, but that’s entirely subjective.)

This is something else that delights me as I paint tonight- a pianist named Geno Pallila. A lovely Chopin improvisation. I thank the gods for technology, which makes this huge world smaller in so many inexpressible  ways.

Firefly

Oil on canvas, 14″ x 11″.

The death of a child,

however, is a tragedy. The Morgan Adams Foundation was created to help raise money and awareness for children affected with cancer.

Artma is an art auction that takes place every other year to fund the Morgan Adams Foundation, and I am pleased to be donating a painting to Artma again this year.

I’ll be donating “Abracadabra,” pictured below.

The event takes place at the Denver Studio Complex, 241 S. Cherokee St. in Denver, on February 6th from 6 to 10 PM.

Also- Denver’s reigning king of pop art Mark Penner Howell is having a studio sale for Haiti this first Friday,February 5th from 6 to 9 PM, at 900 Santa Fe Drive.

50% of all sale prices will go to Haitian relief efforts. From the Westword article:

Here’s how it will work: To buy a painting (ranging from $200 to $2,600), you first make a donation for half the amount to Save the Children, Care, Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders; all of the charities have been vetted for effectiveness and work done in Haiti. A computer will be set up so that you, the consumer, can make the donation and get a tax deduction for your generosity. Give your receipt and the remaining half of the painting price to Penner Howell, and you’ll walk away with a great piece of art and the knowledge that you’ve given to a good cause.

Good art for a good cause conceived by one really great guy.


The Arvada Center’s 23rd Annual Art Market.

Tonight, I’m tagging work to drop off for this (always beautiful) show tomorrow morning.

The video includes some shots from last year’s show- my paintings can be seen on the far left at 4:41 in the video:)

Hoping it’s a great, lucrative year for the Arvada Center and for all the artists participating.

Mariza

Mariza was in Denver last night. It was a real treat to hear her sing songs filled with beautiful longing and sadness.

She sang one of my favorite fados, “Primavera.”

At one point she had to ask a person in the front row what on earth they were doing with their cellphone, anyway.

 

Velocity of a Dream Deferred

Oil on Canvas, 16″ x 16″.Velocity