Category: Works In Progress

Making of Roadside Slush

4/30/2015

"Roadside Slush," 2015. Fabric, house paint, spray paint, sand, pigment, staples on found wood. 14 x 37 inches.

Two weeks ago, a brief snowstorm in Denver left some morning slush on the side of our streets and on some grassy areas near my home. As I walked my dog Sylvie that day, I got an idea about producing a piece inspired by this slush. I made a brief (two minute) video as I worked on “Roadside Slush” to let you in on a bit of my creative process! You can also catch a glimpse of my Denver studio, Cheyenne Studio North, in the video, although it is not any kind of formal tour!

Me and my dog Sylvie at Cheyenne Studio South

Speaking of studio tours…I have decided to hold some open studio days this summer both at my studio in Greenwood Village, CO, and in Santa Fe, NM. I will try to make a post on my Facebook page as well as on this blog so that any interested locals can plan to stop by, though some open studio times will probably be spontaneous! If you are interested in stopping by during an open studio, feel free to send me your contact information and I would be happy to keep you posted with details. I would love to give you a little tour of my studio, show you what I’m working on, answer any questions, and as always, I would love to hear any feedback you might have!

Working in Cheyenne Studio North

Until then, if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions about me or my work, please don’t hesitate to send those my way or leave them in the comments below this post!

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New Work Inspired by Recent Road Trip

4/11/2015

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Photograph by Alex Bornstein

It seems the recent road trip I took with my good friend, Alex Bornstein, a writer and photographer, has influenced my most recent work. Traveling the backroads between Denver and Santa Fe—deviating from the less scenic but more efficient route I typically take when travelling between my two studios—Alex and I encountered some stunning scenes. Naturally, three of the four new pieces I have completed since the road trip are landscapes!

One of my four new pieces, “One More for the Road,” is a departure from almost anything I have ever done. This piece began like many of my other wooden assemblage works, but as I pieced together the chunks of wood and other findings, a story unfolded. I believe the title of the piece makes the subject of the story pretty clear, but I’d love to hear your take on this work. Do you see a story within this piece?

"One More for the Road," 2015.

In the coming weeks, I plan to finish several more landscape pieces that are almost done, as well as starting work on a funky larger board (roughly 2 x 3 ft) that I collected from a house I renovated awhile back. I also plan to continue experimenting with mixing oil and water based paints (gasp!) and playing with raw pigment.

An empty "canvas"--found wood from an old property I renovated!

"Blood Sun," 2015. An example of my experiments with mixing water and oil based paints.

What type of my work do you like best? As always, your feedback is essential to my work. Please email, call, text, or message me with any and all thoughts. Honest critique is a great teacher! And of course, if you are visiting Denver or Santa Fe, let me know. I’d love to give you a studio tour!

A few photos from my studio...

My stash of cut-up, painted board

Experimenting with making a fence

Works in progress in my studio

More of Alex's photos from the road trip...

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Back in the Studio After Month Long Commission

3/28/2015

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Happy accident while my wife Jeannine was making a portrait of me working in the studio today. We still have no clue how she did it!

Working in Cheyenne Studio North today

As Spring begins and the weather warms in sunny Denver, CO, I am thrilled to be back in my studio with the door to my backyard wide open and the music at full blast!

I have been very busy during the first few months of 2015 and am so grateful for all of the opportunities I have had to share my work this year. One such opportunity arose during my exhibition Full Circle at Lone Tree Recreation Center in Lone Tree, CO in February.

Installation view of "Full Circle" at Lone Tree Recreation Center

During the exhibition, I was contacted by Richard Keys, one of the owners of Food and Drink Resources (FDR), a Denver-based product sourcing, development, and management company. He told me he loved the wooden assemblage pieces in the show and wondered if I would consider doing a series of commissioned works for FDR's new offices. After discussing details and checking out the space, I gladly accepted my first commission and got to work making three original works of art for FDR.

"Test Food and Drink"

"Chocolate Temptation"

Installation view of "Eat, Drink, and Eat Cupcakes!" at FDR

I worked on these for about a month, delivering works as I finished them. During my final delivery, Richard even picked out a few additional pieces to add to the halls of Food and Drink Resources!

Installation view of "Number One" at FDR

"Heartbreak" in its new home!

I really enjoyed making work for this cool company and hope to work with them again as they continue to expand their offices!

Installation view of "Eat, Drink, and Eat Cupcakes!" at FDR

Now that I'm back to making my own work, I'm doing a lot of experimental painting on wooden boards. My friend and neighbor Bob Dragoo brought me a truckload of old, weathered wood--my favorite!--from his home in Marble, CO. He seemed just as excited to lend the wood to my work as I was to receive it!

Several of the wooden boards from Bob that I'm working on

As of today, I am playing with nine different new pieces (seen in above photo and photo gallery below). I am working with house paint samples, spray paint, gel pens--my favorite new discovery, acrylic paint, pencil, and oil pastels. I truly believe I have put more creative energy into the work I have going on in the studio today than ever before.

Please be sure to check the site and the new blog often. I post new work as soon as I have it (see 2015) and plan to write at least a few blog entries a month. Future blog posts will include photo tours of my two studios, more works in progress, exhibition photos and information on future shows. I also look forward to sharing some of my inspirations, the story of one of the first pieces of art I ever made (still hangs in my studio today), and photographs I have captured as I travel between my Denver and Santa Fe studios. I would also be happy to answer any questions you might have, so feel free to leave them in the comments below, or you can always contact me directly!

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Making of Roadside Slush

New Work Inspired by Recent Road Trip

Back in the Studio After Month Long Commission

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