At its core, art is about leaving a mark. This ranges from the conceptual work that leaves a thought in a viewer’s mind, to a three-dimensional sculpture carving out space, to the ubiquitous gestural mark in painting and drawing. The last is the mark that most interests me, of course, for I am a painter, … More The Persistence of the Gesture
As I talked with artist Michael Gadlin in his studio in Blue Silo Studios north of Denver’s RINO district, a theme emerged: one of individuality, originality and risk-taking as an artist. Gadlin’s late mentor, the sculptor Roland Bernier, would often repeat to him, “Michael, painting is dead. That’s why I don’t do it.” For many … More Artists I Know: Michael Gadlin
Sitting in Trine Bumiller’s light-filled, Park Hill studio, we talked of memory and landscape, the meaning of trees, the color blue, our lives as working artists. Our conversation ran the gamut but always circled back to her luminescent, awe-inspiring work. Encountering Bumiller’s work is like finding a snapshot of a moment in time. Her abstract … More Artists I Know: Trine Bumiller
This post is in memoriam of Lawrence Argent, renowned Denver-based sculptor and professor emeritus of the University of Denver’s School of Art and Art History. I received word yesterday that he had passed away this week at the age of 60. An artist is not shaped merely by their aesthetic explorations. There is more to … More Artists I Know: Lawrence Argent
At the opening of artist Xochi Solis’ workshop at the Art Students League on Denver on June 17th, my fellow attendees and I were asked to describe the last place we had traveled to that was completely new to us. Many of the women present mentioned exotic trips to Europe, but I talked about the … More Exploring Memory and Place with Xochi Solis
From a resort’s “desert oasis” to gardens inside modern office buildings, the natural world is integrated into our urban environments. Denver-based artist Mindy Bray turns her attention to these spaces, creating elegant paintings and site specific works that explore how we manipulate nature in urban settings. Focusing on the concepts of “absence and presence,” Bray … More Artists I Know: Mindy Bray
Talking with Denver-based abstract artist Tonia Bonnell about clouds, one can begin to look at them differently. Clouds have long fascinated Bonnell, who noticed during her undergrad years studying printmaking at Illinois State University that from the ground a cloud looks solid, but from an airplane, its makeup of millions of tiny water droplets is … More Artists I Know: Tonia Bonnell
One of the most common questions I am asked as an artist is how long it takes to complete a painting. This question does not surprise me. The process of making art is foreign to many. And abstract art, despite existing in the cultural lexicon since at least the late 19th century, remains mysterious in … More Every painting is a journey.
Why did I ever not want to create limited edition prints of my work? Honestly, I cannot remember. I think it was looked down upon, but now it is cool. So when I got the opportunity to create my own edition of prints from my original watercolors, I was thrilled. The process was challenging. First … More The Rain Studies
Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. ~ John Lennon For the past month or so, I have been wrestling with a painting. I tried all my usual tricks- sneaking up on it with white paint to “cover up” the parts that were not working, simplifying it, making it more colorful, making … More Harnessing Chaos
