Floating through space and time.
Saint Prodigy
19 in x 22 in progress shot of “Saint Prodigy” from my limited series called “Patron Saints of Hip-Hop” can’t wait to finish this up build a custom rococo frame and get some prints made.
Made in America
It’s late but here’s the write up for my last exhibition with Core New Art Space, much love to Westword and Khaleel Herbert for the awesome write up (link at bottom.)
For all the bright ideas
Even though now there’s so much content that I can’t keep track of it all and nothing seems special.
A month later
And I’m still working away on this painting
In The Works
new ideas in the works.
Watching Paint Dry
Update on the piece I’m working on for my August exhibition.
The Devil is in the Details
Or in this case, it’s painting the tattoos on the sleeve I would have gotten if I didn’t spend all my disposable income on arting.
Research Sketches
I’ve spent more time on researching historic photos, and pouring over microfilm, than I have and actually painting. Juxtaposing Denver from my childhood with contemporary or historic images is eating up a ton of time. Hopefully the 43 percent of Colorado natives will appreciate the time and effort I’m putting into my 2018 exhibition. Here’s a few preliminary sketches but stay tuned for more weirdness and lost places of Colorado history.
Today in the News
Need to straighten out the angle of the door but here’s the general layout of an old Rocky Mountain News paperbox I’m working on for my 2018 show with Core New Art Space.
While You
While you were exchanging political barbs on social media and marching past my old cracker box apartment in Capitol Hill with home made signs - I was toiling away documenting the events of the time with paint and trowel. Sacrificing what little I had left. Not for some inflated sense of ego or critical acclaim, not for the chance to ship my work into the middle of conservative America on my own dime. And while I’ll most likely never have thousands of Instagram followers or make 60k a year from selling art, maybe just maybe, some little kid that finishes tests early so they can draw on the back of the paper will get dragged to an art exhibit by their mom or dad, see one of my paintings and be inspired to actually creating something. Do something other than napping and walking the dog, working a cubical job that doesn’t really mean anything just like everyone else. Maybe they’ll spend all their free time creating something beautiful.
New Series!
In what could very well be my last exhibition with Core New Art Space at the Santa Fe Dr location, I’m starting work on my 2018 showing with a series of Colorado centric paintings before Denver completely cannibalizes what’s left of everything that makes this city interesting.
Super Bummed
At the loss of Lawrence Argent, I had the privilege of visiting his studio multiple times and generally shooting the breeze about art. It’s a huge loss for the Denver art community and pretty tragic for the all of the art world. If you’re not familiar with his career - he was doing some pretty major projects in San Francisco and China.
Plans for 2018
Pretty much every painting I do these days starts out as a quick thumbnail. Here’s one for my 2018 exhibition. The Rocky Mountain News was the morning paper here in Denver and was always the better of the two. Shout out to the Denver Native life.
Last Chance
To see this painting “Protect Ya Neck” before she gets shipped off to another juried show in Texas. part of the “Dog and Pony” exhibition at Core New Art Space, juried by Doug Kacena of K Contemporary
Apparently 2017 has been about doing only juried and curated shows as well as running out of things to do in the Denver art scene, which is kind of a bummer. Oh well at least I can raise my price per square inch.
Re-contextualizing
Greco-roman sculpture through selective deconstruction or ish that would look bad ass in super large scale.
Chipping Away
At this stylized version of Buffalo Bill Cody, trying not to get bummed out by the wackness of Instagram and the cookie cutter Denver art scene.
Drawing Denver
Had a chance to do some drawing downtown yesterday , trying to work out some 2018 exhibition ideas. Playing around with the idea of old Denver mixed with contemporary subjects. The first one incorporates the Terminal Annex, 15th St. Viaduct, and local graffiti over the years. the Second is a mixture of a white buffalo, the old Elitch Gardens sign, and the cross street where Elitch gardens used to be. That neighborhood has gone through such a transformation I hardly recognize it anymore.
The crazy thing about Denver, all the places where artists called home have become so desirable that for the most part we've all been forced out. Rino, Navajo, and soon the Santa Fe Arts district. The city doesn't seem to care, and for the most part neither does the public until its too late. Westword recently ran an article about artists leaving mementos on the RiNO Arts District signage in memory of the arts district. The sad thing is little do they know that the Santa Fe Arts District is the one they should be worried about. It's the only cohesive, walkable Arts District in Denver that has a mix of Commercial Galleries and Co-Ops. When Spark and CORE's leases are up in the next two years and we end up disbanded or moving it will be a huge hit to the district and spell the begining of the end of what makes that part of Denver interesting. You'll still have hippy hat stores and whatever Artwork Network is, but you won't have the high quality, thought provoking work that comes out of an anchor gallery and co-op with 36 years of continual operation.
Divided
I've been trying to wrap my head around WTF happened in Charlottesville Virginia and all I can come up with is thanks America for still being awful and making my work even more relevant. Torches and chanting, armed militia wandering the streets, a clear lack of police force, it was a recipe for complete chaos and tragedy. Unfortunately that's how things eventually unfolded. I'd like to think someday people will look back at my work (hopefully in a museum) documenting the last eleven months - the social and political maelstrom that's been 2016/ 17, and they'll say something like "man this guy was ahead of his time, and had his finger to the pulse of what was really going on." But trying to compete with meaningless art in the digital age is freaking exhausting and demoralizing.
Artist Reception
Join myself and Donny Dixon this Friday August 11th from 6-9p for the artist reception for our exhibitions. Core New Art Space 900 Santa Fe Dr.