By Hilliard Moore

I attended the Tag Team Mixed Taste Lectures On Unrelated Topics on July 17 on Fractals & Vance Kirkland at the Museum of Contemporary Art  Denver. This was one of the most interesting and enlighting lectures that I have attended here in Denver.  The lecture hall was full and standing room only in the back. Nicholas Ormes and Hugh Grant delivered two outstanding and visually stimulating presentations on Fractals and Vance Kirkland.  The Mixed Taste lecture lived up to it’s billing as being unrelated topics that blended together perfectly to  invoke your senses on Vance Kirkland’s artwork and the infinity of fractal patterns in a rainbow of colors. 

I was invited to the lecture by one of my artists Jane Renau Denison who is showing her symphony snippit series at the Great Western Art Gallery. She is blessed with synesthesia when the senses are blended and transpose with one another. Sounds are manifested as colors, and flashes of light or shapes become musical. Some say that only one in 200 people has this gift, it is seven times more likely to occur in artists, poets,or novelists.

Jane Renau Denison says;  ”Music has layers, and I see melodies and movements of music as shapes and colors. Through my artistic expression I capiture some of the beauty of music I hear, and through my artwork you can actually see the music around us.”

Vance Kickland would have musicians playing music in his studio while he painted.   So he may have had synesthesia also to paint his extraordinary dotted pictures?

Jane thank you for the invitation to the Mixed Taste lecture series at the MCA Denver it was a super evening at the museum.

Great Western Art Gallery An Eclectic Collection of Fine Art & Custom Framing July 2009

Merganser Takes Flight      Featured Artist:  Paul Lindberg Landscape & Lenscapes Opening Reception Saturday, August 1 Join us for an opening reception with photographer Paul Lindberg on Saturday, August 1 from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at Great Western Art Gallery. Paul specializes in finding that unique photo that makes your eyes want to wander. Different views of well-known landscapes and winter scenes are emphasized. A love for wildlife also influences his work.   With a long-time interest in photography, Paul turned professional in 2005, and his work has since been shown in several local galleries, winning several awards. He specializes in digital photography using top-of-the-line paper and inks that have 100 year archival properties, creating photographs that can be enjoyed over and over again. His goal is to offer photographs that truly are life-long pix. The show runs from August 1st through September 5th, 2009. The reception is free and open to the public.       Aspen View

New Artwork For Sale Through GW Consignment We have taken in, on consignment, some special artwork by two well known Southwestern artists:Save yourself a drive to Sante Fe to see these artists’ work. These and other new consignment pieces will soon be posted on our FineArtLiquidation.com. Frank Howell We have framed the Springs Matrix along with seven other lithographs, such as Women at Night (right).   Malcolm Furlow We have three large Serigraphs: Powder River Warrior, Custer and Crazyhorse and Warrior for America.

A Framing Alternative: The Gallery Mount Collection Durable, Versatile & Affordable If you are looking for an alternative to conventional framing, then come into the gallery to see The Gallery Mount Collection. This is a new mounting process designed to enhance and protect any type of graphic display. It is durable, versatile and affordable and ideal for  commercial buildings, restaurants, museums and high traffic areas in the home or elsewhere.The 80% UV protective vinyl reduces the sun’s yellowing rays making it ideal for sunlit rooms, lobbies and offices. The Gallery Mount Collection offers many options to complement any image or décor.

Host Your Next Gathering at the Gallery   The gallery is situated in Denver’s Theatre District, next to the Curtis Hotel and has capacity for up to 100 guests.   The gallery provides an intimate setting for your guests in downtown Denver. You’ll be surrounded by an eclectic collection of artwork by local and regional artists. The Gallery has an ADA compliant entry ramp and restrooms and a kitchen area for catering setup and service. We have a list of caterers to pick from or you can select your own. For an additional charge, we can arrange entertainment. Read more about renting the gallery or call 303-396-2787.

Contact Us

Great Western Art Gallery, LLC 1455 Curtis Street | Denver, CO |  80202 T: 303-396-ARTS (2787) |  F: 303-396-0279 E: info@greatwesternartgalleryllc.com W: www.GreatWesternArtGalleryLLC.com Hours: Mon-Fri - 10am - 6pm Sat - 11am - 5pm Sun - By Appointment

 

 

]]> http://www.greatwesternartgalleryllc.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=14 http://www.greatwesternartgalleryllc.com/blog/?p=12 http://www.greatwesternartgalleryllc.com/blog/?p=12#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:26:47 +0000 admin http://www.greatwesternartgalleryllc.com/blog/?p=12 Do you have artwork that is askew or pulling away from the backing in your frame? Bring it into the gallery and we can help you fix it.  Just ask for Kelly!!

Several things could be going wrong:

1. Framing may be old and the artwork is attached to backing by masking tape which dried up and becomes brittle.
2. The matting may be old and not PH balanced or backing maybe cardboard.
3. Glass may not have UV protection on it.
4. Weather in Colorado fluctuates with high and low temperatures that effect the artwork.
5. How close do you hang your artwork to a window this could effect your artwork, too.

The Great Western Art Gallery (GW) is a terrific place to purchase fine art. The gallery offers more than just traditional Western and Native American art. In the gallery you will find fine art ranging from hand-blown glass to jewelry to modern abstract expressionist paintings and modern digital photography. All the artists are local and regional Denver artists with exceptional talent and some with national and international recognition for their abilities.

Buying fine art in today’s declining economy seems to some as a monetary risk rather than a positive investment. The value of fine art will only increase in the coming years and can be a terrific personal investment when done correctly. Does this mean that you should go out and buy the artwork that everyone else is saying you “should” love? No. Investing in artwork works best when it is a purely personal choice. As a buyer you want to buy “the art that you can’t live without,” doing this will give you a much richer and enjoyable experience with your investment. Keep in mind that buying fine art should enrich your life not break your bank account so make a budget and stick to it when collecting, only making exceptions for those pieces that really deserve it in your mind’s eye. Start small and work towards those larger pieces that you dream of owning. Your collection should reflect your own artistic preference and no one else’s since you will be the one enjoying and experiencing the artwork the most. Allowing yourself to exploring collecting a variety of mediums will also help you to find the right niche for your taste. GW is one such place to explore a variety of mediums in which you might be interested in collected.

The GW offers a warm and friendly place to start or continuing your art collecting. The store offers a variety of mediums and genres allowing for a large range of likeability. The store supports local and regional artists such as bronze sculptor Donna Arndt, who brings to live a variety of subjects with her metal. Some of her work includes the joy of a child with his first balloons to the life of a doe and her young fawn. The realism in the sculpture balances well with the realism found in the paintings of artists such as James Faulkner, who depicts wildlife in his extremely detailed and skilled paintings. Other artists in the gallery work with multimedia or abstract forms of paintings. Chuck Chroma is a skilled painter working in multimedia paintings creating Native American quilts, some including animal skulls mounted along with the painted quilt. Other artists in the gallery work in mediums such as colorful hand blown glass, Raku pottery, and turned wood bowls. The digital photographers in the gallery capture the live in and around the Denver area with their magnificent colors and amazing clarity.

The gallery store is located in exciting down town Denver. The store offers not only high quality artwork but also custom framing for anything ranging from large artwork to diplomas. For those just starting their art collecting endeavors the gallery also sells original prints by many of the artists, which allows for an original piece that you love to be bought without breaking your budget. This blog and the website are designed to help the buyer to learn and understand about the artists on more personal level which gives a unique experience of not only buying the art but understanding the meaning behind the purchase. GW also has a couple websites for buying art online, http://www.fineartliquidation.com/ and their home page http://greatwesternartgalleryllc.com. The home page features all the artists that can be found in the gallery and allows for the buyer to purchase the piece on the site, it also gives the buyer an idea about the artist, their life and their work. Fine Art Liquidation features some of the same artists that can be found in the gallery and allows for a speedy purchase with google checkout without having to leave the comfort of your own home. All of these aspects combined make the Great Western Art Gallery a place to buy a variety of fine art without breaking your budget and making sure you find exactly what you love. The staff is helpful, friendly and experienced and is willing to help you find exactly what you’re looking for in a work of art.

I first met Dale when I was a student in his Master Class at the Denver Art Students League. I had the privilege of being one of his students for several years. A Master Class means that the artist already knows how to paint but wants individual guidance from an instructor. His class was held in two rooms and there was always a waiting list to get in. You had to sign up months in advance for his class. In the Art Students League Exhibit of the Students of Dale Chisman it was very obvious that each student was allowed to maintain and develop his/her own style of painting.

Dale had the uncanny ability to reach students where they were in their development, see their potential, and nurture this creativity in his own good humored manner. He had a vast knowledge of the works of other artists around the world and would recommend to a student just the right ones to study and research to better enhance the direction of their own styles.  You would not only learn from his comments to you but from his conversations with other students as well. You learned to better critique your own work.

From time to time his students had the rare privilege of attending gallery or museum tours with him and listening to his explanations of contemporary art. I told him that some day I hoped to be able to understand his style of painting. He explained this would be an appreciation of what he called “High Art.”  When I heard him expound with delight the nuances of a huge painting in the Museum of Contemporary Art I began to understand where he was coming from. He saw the entire canvas as an exciting arena full of colors, tension, harmony, shapes, relationships, layers, etc. all playing off each other in endless activity.  Each shape in the painting was appreciated for itself. By the very nature of the boundaries of a canvas a painting can seem restricted. A contemporary abstract painting has a sense of expanding forever because of shapes and colors that seem to extend beyond the canvas. This was a style used by Dale in all of his painting. I learned to try not to have shapes look like they represented some thing. This would stop the eye from being entertained by the presence of what the entire painting contained.

Dale most enjoyed painting on very large canvasses and working on several at the same time in his large studio. When he would talk about his own work you had the sense that he was entering into the canvas and surrounding himself with the ideas he was painting.  He gave each piece a lot of “thinking” time as well as painting time. He no longer did sketches of what he wanted to paint but let the painting itself develop as he worked on it. It was in constant flux until he felt it was a finished piece. Sometimes you could see an under painting of shapes he had covered over as the painting developed. If there happened to be a drip or a dribble of paint he would leave it alone. I learned that these techniques showed the hand of the artist, was done with purpose and gave the painting depth.

Last year Dale came with me to The Great Western Art Gallery to see my paintings and check out the gallery. He was very complementary of what he saw. He was especially impressed with the location and how well the art work was displayed.      

The biggest events this year is our son Andy graduated from Colorado State University with a Civil Engineer degree and found a great job in Brisbane, Australia.  He loves it, what an adventure for a 24 year old.

My wife, Gretchen and I are going to a family reunion (my side) in Steamboat Springs this September.  We have rented a house for all attending and plan lots of hikes and a balloon ride.

All for now,

Jim

DNC 1908
Presidential Candidates: William Jennings Bryant and Vice President John W. Kern
Location: Municipal Auditorium 14th and Curtis Streets
Date: July 7-10, 1908
Governor: Henry Buchtel
Mayor: Robert Speer
City’s Population: 210,000
Nicknamed: “Queen City of Mountain and Plain”
First Class Hotel: Brown Palace Hotel
Transportation Terminal: Union Depot at 17th and Wynkoop
Delegates: No Black Delegates at Convention but a number of Blacks did attend
Black Newspaper: “The Colorado Statesman”
Denver’s Black Neighborhood Five Points: Members of the “Negro Democratic Headquarters” hoisted a banner promoting Bryan and his running mate Kern across a street in Five Points

DNC 2008
Presidential Candidates: Barack Obama and Vice President (?)
Location: Pepsi Center 1000 Chopper Circle
Date: August 25-28, 2008
Governor: Bill Ritter
Mayor: John Hickenlooper
City’s Population: 12 County Denver-Aurora-Boulder 2,998,878
Nicknamed: “Mile-High City”
First Class Hotel: Hyatt Convention Center Hotel
Transportation Terminal: Denver International Airport at 8500 Pena Blvd.
Delegates: Key Black Leaders; Leah Daughtry - Chief Executive Officer of the DNCC and Elbra Wedgeworth - President / Chair of the Board DNC Host Committee
Black Newspaper:”Urban Spectrum”
Denver’s Black Neighborhood Five Points: The Legendary Five Points Jazz and Blues Festival

By Marlene Feinholtz – Urban Cityscapes Painter

I create paintings that depict my personal interpretation of the architecture in and around Denver. This has been the fuel that continually energizes my work. I am inspired driving to and from the bank, to the gallery, out to dinner, to a play or simply a stroll through downtown.

Hilliard Moore, owner of Great Western Art, has been displaying my work in his gallery in downtown Denver, right in the heart of the City and a half a block from the Performing Art Center. His excitement about the upcoming Democratic National Convention worked its way into an idea. He asked me if I would be able to create a painting from a historical point of view that could be a collector’s item for people coming here for the convention. I did some research and came up with a concept and the painting has become a reality.

The original painting is being displayed at the gallery and Hilliard has ordered posters which can be purchased at the gallery for $10.00. As you can see from the photograph of the painting, I painted the City Municipal Auditorium where the convention was held in 1908 and the Pepsi Center where it will be held on August 25-28, 2008. I included a view of the mountains as seen looking west from Denver and the American Eagle painted in the colors of the American flag. The original painting, posters and special order giclees, as well as framing, are available at the gallery. The excitement surrounding this historic Democratic National convention is growing with each passing day.

Have you ever found yourself translating the physical objects in your experience into thoughts? Have you looked at a cloud and seen a monkey instead of a cloud? Maybe when you look deeply at a rock, the rock is overwhelmed by a surface bursting with colors, textures and shapes. What rock?

I think of the process of Visual Arts as the visualization within our individual consciousness that occurs when we are observing blobs of matter such as stone, metal, wood, clay or even the human body. It takes an artist to create these visions into a physical form, using various mediums, for others to enjoy and appreciate.

In my case, visual art describes my visual perception stimulated by a vivid subjective presence. I see color, form and texture not only in music but especially in ideas.

My paintings objectify the subjective. I paint ideas.

This approach to expression amplifies a deep fascination and love of line, shape and color in their non representational form. Principles and elements of design begin to take on a life of their own.

A line can enjoy just being a line. See paintings Retrospection and Energized.

Sculptural shapes unencumbered by gravity, time or weather are free to express their own individuality. See paintings Bored Sculpture Blowing Bubbles and Ringers.

Music can be captured in static forms. See paintings In The Beginning, Chorus and That Swing.

I welcome you into my world of thought!

Visit Jane’s website to view her work.

I would like to welcome you to the Great Western Art Gallery Blog. This is a new addition to the gallery’s web site; that I hope will bring you as an art collector closer to our gallery artists.

This is one way to find out more information about what, why, where and how the artist does what they do to create a piece of artwork. What is their inspiration and motivation for their artwork? Hopefully, the blog will provide you an insight into the artist’s spirit and thoughts.

When you have an original work of art that is done by the hands of the artist it has their energy, knowledge and spirit embedded in it. This being a stroke of paint on a brush for a painting or molding clay for a bronze sculpture, it is a moment in time that is captured. In order to learn how to create a beautiful piece of art, it can take the artist many years of formal and informal training to develop a certain style or technique. I have watched our professional artists grow and develop over the years and it has been truly a rewarding experience.

I hope that you will enjoy the blog and interacting with our artists.