colorado #17

One last post about Colorado before we move on East to Connecticut.  The state flower of Colorado is the Larkspur.  I have a little love affair with the Larkspur as it is a lovely shade of blue violet and as it happens it is in full bloom right now in my vegetable garden.  Over the years I have painted it many times and I am not finished with it by any means. Here are three paintings.  The second stars the Cleome but Larkspur is int he background.

                            

And some plans that may become paintings.

COLORADO #15

Today Jane Guthridge and her art take center stage.  In her series The Space Between she completely saturates thin Asian papers with encaustic, making them translucent and applies them to canvas in many layers.  This creates light patterns that change through out the day and create visual depth.  I would love to see these in person.  The soft colors and shapes are very appealing.

COLORADO #11

Colorado has a lively arts community.  There is the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, the Aspen Music Festival, Vail International Dance Festival, Boulder's Colorado MahlerFest, the Breckenridge Music Festival and the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs.

Here is a list of art Museums in Colorado.

• Denver Art Museum. 100 W. ... 
• Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. 30 W. ... 
• Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center. 210 N. ... 
• Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra. ... 
• Aspen Art Museum. ... 
• American Museum of Western Art - The Anschutz Collection. ... 
• Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. ... 
• Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.

And many movies have been shot in Colorado most notably Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, True Grit, and The Searchers.  There are also a number of film festivals held there.

Since this is primarily an art blog, I think I will highlight some artists who's work appeals to me who live and work in Colorado.

This image by the artist Radeaux caught my interest because the colors and the simple shape appeal to me.

But it turns out that he is primarily interested in painting birds and does so very carefully getting the anatomy and colors as close as he can.  After his wife brought home a quilt incorporating images of birds he was fascinated by the rhythms created and is now painting "quilts" of his own after researching all the many quilt patterns that incorporate images of birds.  I especially like his use of color.

Colorado #7

"In 1864, Territorial Governor John Evans appointed the Reverend John Chivington as Colonel of the Colorado Volunteers with orders to protect white settlers from the Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors who were accused of stealing cattle.  Colonel Chivington ordered his men to attack a band of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped along Sand Creek.  Chivington reported that his troops killed more than 500 warriors.  The militia returned to Denver City in triumph, but several officers reported that the so called battle was a blatant massacre of Indians at peace, that most of the dead were women and children, and that bodies of the dead had been hideously mutilated and desecrated.  Three U. S. Army inquiries condemned the action, and incoming President Andrew Johnson asked Governor Evans for his resignation, but none of the perpetrators was ever punished.  This event is now known as the Sand Creek Massacre"... Wikipedia

"Among the chiefs killed were most of those who had advocated peace with white settlers and the U.S. government.^[44] The net effect of the murders and ensuing weakening of the peace faction exacerbated the developing social and political rift. Traditional council chiefs, mature men who sought consensus and looked to the future of their people, and their followers, were opposed by the younger and more militaristic Dog Soldiers"... Wikipedia

These historical incidents remind us that the United States has done its share of crimes against humanity and that giving men guns and authorizing them to kill is always a dangerous game with unintended consequences.

COLORADO #4

Colorado is now experiencing a number of wild fires.  Wild fires are caused by several factors.  

Apparently in Colorado more people are making their home in the mountains, in vulnerable areas.  On top of that, Colorado forests have a lot of standing dead and fallen trees.  These are a perfect fuel source for a wildfire and a firefighter's worst nightmare.  The majority of fires are started by either campfires gone awry or lightning. 

COLORADO

It's June so time to get going into our next state which is Colorado.  My first problem is always where exactly is Colorado.  So, it is slightly left of center bordered by Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.  That's a lot of states to be bordered by.  It is defined solely by lines of longitude and latitude.

And here is ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH by John Denver with lots of great pictures to get us started on our trip to this great state.