Sandra Kaplan art news etc.

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-25T22:38:00.005-07:00

Cheers for a
Happy New Year 2012!

Studio Sale

2011-12-10T17:34:00.004-07:00

Art D'Elke presents:

Holiday Show and Sale II

Paintings and Collages by

Sandra Kaplan

Sunday, December 18th, 12 to 4 pm

Select from Sandra Kaplan's plein air paintings, some from her recent trip to Tuscany, along with collages created from her collection of treasures, and her collaged cards.

Kendra Custer from Anthologie Framing will be on hand to help you pick the perfect mats and frames for the unframed pieces.

Location: Sandra Kaplan Studio

St Francis de Sales School building

235 S. Sherman Street

(Alameda and Sherman Streets)

Denver, CO 80209

Produced by Art D'Elke, studio and Gallery projects orchestrated by art consultant Elke McGuire and marketing expert Denise Robert.

Info: Denise Robert at 303-368-5208 or DeniseLRobert@comcast.net

We are able to accept most credit cards.

New Collages

2011-11-29T23:15:00.001-07:00

"Hubble"

"About Time"

"Strange Breed"

"Vacation"

"Godiva 3"

"Self Portrait As A Sunflower"

"Dr Caligari"

"Dandylion"

Color Studies

2011-07-07T22:34:00.014-06:00

With a firm grounding in Josef Albers theory, for many years I've expanded my understanding of color with painted studies.

The study above uses various yellows and reds, several with the same color name but from different brands. These have been painted over black stripes to show variations in transparency. Towards the top of the canvas, white has been mixed with each color. Towards the bottom, each color has been mixed with black.

My paintings have almost always been highly saturated. Recently, I've been attracted to more subtle hues, but find them a challenge.

The next two studies are investigations into these low key colors, attempts to combine tans and grays with bright colors. Perhaps my next study will eliminate the fully saturated hues completely.

One of my challenges will be to create an exciting, yet non-illusionistic space with these grayed tones. Another may be the elimination of the complimentary color combinations that I often use as a way of adding excitement and emotional content.

The stripes in the next canvas play with the contrast between flat and textured color areas, contrasts of light and dark values, and near compliments which aren't adjacent.

The balance of warm to cool is in an opposite proportion to my usual one, which would be mostly cool to a lesser amount of warm.

I've also tried to include some colors that I normally find unpleasant, using a balance in the amount of each color and adjacent value relationships to make the colors integral to the whole.

Following the stripe painting is an entire canvas painted with transparencies, glazes of color layered one on the other.

First, horizontal stripes were painted, about 3/4 inch apart. Then more substantial (in the amount of pigment) stripes were painted, 3/4 inch apart, vertically.

The white spaces between the overlapping stripes were painted black, to increase the illusion of transparency. I was surprised at the intensity and drama of the "stained glass"effect.

My original intention of understanding the colors created by the overlapping transparencies offered me some pleasant surprises too.

In the last image, shown below, hard and soft edges and seemingly random color selections create interesting spatial relationships.

Tea Wrappers and Painting

2011-07-03T18:23:00.006-06:00

A rather abstract waterscape seemed compositionally complete, but totally unsatisfying. It said nothing that I wanted to communicate, nothing unique to me. So it sat in my studio, face to the wall, waiting.

Simultaneously, I was working on some collages, and also spending some time on acrylic color studies about transparency and space. My friend Denise had recently visited, and she had purchased a collage called "Tea Party". I had also been collecting the wrappers from tea bags, intrigued by their colors.

My friend Bill had commented during another studio visit that the painting shamefully facing the wall needed a geometric element, and voila! I knew the solution.

My 24" X 60" painting, with a collaged grid of superimposed tea bag wrappers, can be seen to the right.Weird spacial connections occurred at the junction of organic and geometric images with colors appearing and disappearing depending on their similarity or difference to what was behind or adjacent. I suppose other connections could be made to the friends who donated their tea bags, or to the ritual cup of tea my husband and I have each evening. My life outer and inner lives colliding.

Two More Weeks/ Cabbage

2011-07-03T18:12:00.002-06:00

OK, I promise to only write about this again when the cabbages are ready for harvest, but I feel as if I'm watching Jack's (from the beanstalk) garden grow. When will the giant show up? These gorgeous leaves, which belong to the most mundane of vegetables, compel me to check in several times a day, and seem to have grown each time I visit.

When painting foliage in the past, I have often remarked that it seemed much easier to paint plants than to grow them. I'm re-thinking my position, with the possible exception of okra.

Two Weeks to Giant Cabbages

2011-06-13T10:55:00.005-06:00

June 13, 2011 Giant leaves of purple cabbage.
May 31, 2011 purple cabbages.
June 13, 2011 Amazing growth in two weeks for my purple cabbages. That story about Jack and the Giant - was it about beans or cabbages? Notice the beans growing in the upper left of the photo, and the arugula right behind the cabbage. That much growth was unexpected, too.

I'm amazed at this growth. But even more amazed that, after about 20 years of not having a vegetable garden due to lack of a sunny location, I'm so excited every morning to water my vegetables, to do research about dealing with leafminers, and watch as seeds germinate and tiny plants poke out of the ground.

This growth process seems so magical, not unlike the process of watching a painting emerge on my canvas, take form and struggle through its adolescent phase before being a fully formed, satisfying expression.

Demo And Dialog- ASLD at Whole Foods

2011-05-24T10:22:00.003-06:00

May 21, representing the Art Students League of Denver, I did a Demo and Dialog at the Whole Foods Market in Capitol Hill, Denver, for an audience of about 30 people.

It was my first outdoor painting experience of the season - sort of a "warm-up for my Plein Air class that begins June 1 through the ASLD.

Demonstrating , to me, is always fraught with anxiety. It's not that I'm shy about speaking to groups - I'm not. And I enjoy showing my set up for Plein Air, because it's a bit different than that used by most artists. A Feather-Lite easel, a Pac-Seat stool, a small Masterson palette with a sponge. etc. But each time I begin a painting, I try to forget all that I know and begin a-fresh, seeking some connection with my subject unlike my previous work. I don't have rules. I don't have a standard way to begin - things I do first, or after. I enjoy the freshness a struggle often imparts to my work, and an occasional discovery of a new way of working. But I do look for something that moves me, and occasionally try to clarify what that "something" is. No surrounding city-scape, visible from my painting location and which was supposed to be the subject of my demo on the Whole Foods patio, inspired me.

So I just dove into a painting of the vegetable plants, and soon was as lost as my students frequently seem. The drawing kept changing, the colors wouldn't work spatially, the air was dry and my paints kept drying too. I had two hours, an audience, and an ego that wanted to produce a recognizable, balanced, well composed image.

My solution was to do a new painted line drawing in a dark color over my unstructured mess. The results, which pleased me, are above.

My Fibonacci Garden, Almost

2011-05-11T22:48:00.000-06:00

Our backyard is surrounded by trees, creating shade so complete that to grow anything , I need to beg and plead. Even hostas think this deep shade too unwelcoming, and refuse to grow. Painting vegetables and flowers is so much easier than growing them!

So when the grass next to our driveway (in the front of our home) died from too much sun and a lack of water, I began to plan our container vegetable garden.

I found concrete planter blocks at a garden supply store which I used to create raised containers, hoping that passing canine friends would leave their messages elsewhere. These were placed directly on the soil, and surrounded by rocks. I chose a pattern of fibonacci numbers, placing the blocks in groups of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 - although the store ran out of my blocks and I'll need to wait a few more weeks to complete the "8" group.

Fibonacci numeric sequences are found in so many growing things, from cactae, artichokes and sunflowers to the human body. The golden ratio of 1 to 1.618, from which the fibonacci sequence derives, is the beauty defining ratio in the history of art, and both have frequently inspired my paintings. What better design inspiration for my first vegetable growing endeavor in many years?

So now the plants are in the ground, the seeds sewn, and I'm crossing my fingers that all is not washed away by the rain that has been a constant all day.

Ouch! Creation And Destruction Go Hand In Hand

2011-04-26T22:40:00.000-06:00

Above is the first state of a replacement canvas for "Maps"

After considering the whole painting, it was necessary to make many changes to incorporate the canvas into the existing whole of "Maps" (see below).

The image above, "Maps, is an oil and acrylic on 10 canvases, part of a series of paintings called,"Some Thoughts About The Weather", begun in 2001. This section is 54" X 90".

Originally shown at the Arvada Center in Arvada, Colorado, later shown at the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, I have been adding to the series (painting additional canvases), and subtracting from it (sales) ever since it's initial exhibition.

Several of the canvases above had been sold, and as a client wanted this whole section, I was asked to replace the sold sections with similar and compatible images.

The first painting I completed was state one, shown at the top of this page. For about 30 years I have been painting color studies like this one, usually in conjunction with a painting. I would try to devise color sequences for the painting, or try out the value or saturation of a color before using it. Occasionally, I'd just get so involved in the study that I'd forget the "painting" for awhile. As a consequence, during the past several years, these studies have sometimes been incorporated into my final pieces as an integral part of my process, as the canvas at the top was in the "Maps" piece.

But once I placed the canvas (that I liked very much) in the context of the whole, it jumped out. I've so often told students that no one wants to buy just a piece of a painting, or cut out a chunk to hang on the wall. The painting needs to work as a total statement. And here I was, faced with the prospect of painting over just the area that I most enjoyed. The yellows and some of the oranges jumped. A dark purple rectangle in the upper left of the canvas was between a bright yellow and an orange, and although interesting when the piece was alone, was too much of an eye catcher in combination.

So, ouch! I ignored my fears and dove in, eagerly destroying my favorite part of the smaller canvas to complete the whole of "Maps". Each time I changed one color, everything else was off balance, and required further adjustments. Along the way, I discovered a number of queer and satisfying colors that I had never used before. And I was proud of allowing myself to destroy an area I liked and the awareness of new colors I gained.

The second piece above was the re-painted canvas.

Workshop in Tuscany

2011-04-26T22:18:00.005-06:00

Acrylic and oil painting, 24" X 30", "Lamole", view from the Restaurant "Lamole" where we will have lunch on our Chanti day-trip.

Only one spot left for those of you considering my workshop at Abbondanza Toscana this September 17 to the 27 in Tuscany. Enticing painting trips are planned to Chianti, a private garden inside the walls of Lucca, Devil's Bridge and a Mediterranean fishing village just south of the Cinque Terre. Plus wonderful food and wine from our private chef at Selva. Don't miss this.

"The Mystery of Picasso", a Movie

2011-03-29T22:41:00.005-06:00

Above, Pablo Picasso

Join film critic Robert Denerstein and me for the last movie in our 2011 spring series, "Art Goes To The Movies", at the Art Student League of Denver, 200 Grant St., Denver CO, 6:30 PM, Thursday, March 31. Watch a 1955 must see movie, "The Mystery of Picasso". All are welcome. $12 ASLD members, $15 non- members, includes introduction, discussion and popcorn.

Those of you who came to the first session of this series in February know that we were unable to show this movie due to technical difficulties. For you this will be a make-up class.

For the rest of you, a rare opportunity to see Picasso working through his painting issues as we watch. Creatively filmed using a translucent material as canvas, only Picasso's brush strokes mysteriously appear, seemingly detached from the painter's hand.

"Seraphine" A Movie

2011-03-24T11:17:00.006-06:00

Above, A Painting by Seraphine de Senlis
Above, photo of the real Seraphine Louis

Join film critic Robert Denerstein and me tonight, 6:30, at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant St., Denver, to view and discuss the movie "Seraphine". Popcorn provided. $12 members, $15 non-members.

In the second to last episode of "Art Goes To The Movies", we watch a 2008 film by Martin Provost about the life and career of a French maid called to paint. She often even concocted her own paints. Remarkably before her time and self taught, Seraphine was also known as "Seraphine de Senlis". An art bio-pic not to be missed.

"Basquiat", A Movie By Julian Schnabel

2011-03-15T16:43:00.003-06:00

Above: The real Jean-Michel Basquiat

Join Film Critic Robert Denerstein and me, Thursday, March 17, at 6:30 PM at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, at "Art Goes To The Movies". This week's movie offering is "Basquiat", the first film by painter and film-maker Julian Schnabel, starring Jeffrey Wright. Jean Michel Basquiat was a Haitian-American neo-expressionist painter in late 1970's to 1980's New York. Discussion and popcorn follow. All are welcome. $12 members of the League, $15 non-members.

Camille Claudel Movie

2011-03-08T13:22:00.003-07:00

Above Photo of Camille Claudel at 19 years old.

Join Film Critic Robert Denerstein and me, Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 PM at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, at "Art Goes To The Movies". This week's movie offering is "Camille Claudel", the neglected 19-20th century artist whose affair with Rodin may have left her emotionally destroyed. Discussion and popcorn follow. All are welcome. $12 members of the League, $15 non-members.

March Schedule for "Art Goes To The Movies"

2011-02-24T22:22:00.010-07:00

image above from "Chihwaseon (Painted Fire)", 2002

Art Goes To the Movies, Part II

A class taught by film critic Robert Denerstein and artist Sandra Kaplan at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, Denver, on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9:30.

Part 1 of "Art Goes To the Movies" focused on the artistic process as captured in a series of fascinating documentaries. Part II switches to the lives of artists as interpreted by a variety of directors.

1. March 3. Chihwaseon (Painted Fire). (2002). Korean master Im Kwon-Taek examines the life of 19^thcentury artist Jang Seung-up. Im’s stirring and evocative drama takes place against a backdrop of political turmoil, but it’s Im’s cinematic artistry and Jang’s vivid paintings that make for a potent exploration of the ways in which artists learn to speak with original voices.

2. March 10. Camille Claudel (1988). French director Bruno Nuytten chronicles the life of 19^th Century sculptor Camille Claudel (Isabelle Adjani), a woman who worked in the shadow of Auguste Rodin (Gerard Depardieu), the famed sculptor who initially took Claudel on as a student. Building his movie around the stormy relationship between Claudel and Rodin, Nuytten takes a fascinating look at the passion and obsession that can drive an artist to greatness or possibly to madness.

3. March 17. Basquiat (1996). Artist Julian Schnabel began what has been a remarkable second career as a film director with this look at the rise of young Jean Michel Basquiat, a painter who began his career as a New York street artist and became an art star of the 1980s. The movie features an extraordinary performance by Jeffrey Wright as Basquait. Schnabel – no stranger to fame – examines the intoxicating (and perhaps fatal) mix of art and celebrity.

4. March 24. Serpahine. (2008) The amazing story of a maid who was recognized as a profoundly gifted artist. Director Martin Provost obtains a brilliant performance from Yolande Moreau as Seraphine de Senlis, an artist whose work was discovered by art critic Willhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tucker). Provost illuminates much about the impact of recognition on a woman who may not have regarded herself as an artist in any conventional sense.

5. March 31. Mystery of Picasso. Make-up class.

"Art Goes To The Movies"

2011-01-23T14:30:00.002-07:00

Click here to register, find out dates and pricing for Robert Denerstein and my art and film class, "Art Goes To The Movies". This class is open to artists and non-artists, members of the Art Students League, and non-members. CLICK

"Art Goes To The Movies"

2011-01-06T22:23:00.010-07:00

For the first time, my husband, film critic Robert Denerstein, and I will be teaching a class together combining both of our areas of expertise. The Art Students League of Denver has offered a venue for our class, Art Goes To The Movies, on Thursday evenings in February and March, 2011.

Art Goes to the Movies will be presented in four-week blocks that revolve around films concerned with art and artists. The first segment will be devoted to the enticements of the artistic process. Thanks to documentaries, we now have the ability to examine the working methods of important artists, a study that can provide inspiration for those who make art and deepen the appreciation of non-artists who regard art as an essential part of their lives.

1. February 3, 2011. The Mystery of Picasso (1958). For this crucially important documentary, French director Henri Clouzot persuaded Picasso to paint on camera, providing us with a unique opportunity to watch Picasso's mind in the midst of creation.

Topics for discussion: What is the role of "showmanship" in an artist's career? When is a work finished? Can there be art without risk? Where does craft end and art begin? How do we define an artistic genius?

2. February 10, 2011. Vincent. Director Paul Cox's 1987 documentary blends the artist's letters to his brother Theo with views of Van Gogh's work and the landscapes and faces that inspired it. Cox's approach allows Van Gogh's psyche to emerge more vividly than it has in many of the works that have attempted to dramatize the artist's tumultuous life.

Topics for discussion: The role of the spiritual in art? The artist as outcast, and the quest for transcendence in and through art. Can madness play a role in the creation of great art?

3. February 17, 2011. David Hockney: A Bigger Picture. This stirring 2009 documentary chronicles Hockney's transition from the sun-splashed climes of California to the more muted world of his native Yorkshire in Great Britain. Director Bruno Wollheim captures Hockney making work that may prove to be the capstone of an amazingly prolific career.

Topics for discussion: The artist's role in transforming landscape. Where does observation cease and vision begin? Why does so much art have the capacity to awaken us to life?

4. February 24, 2011. Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy, Working With Time. This 2001 documentary by director Thomas Riedelsheimer not only captures the transient beauty of Andy Goldsworthy's scupture, but becomes a work of art in itself. Goldsworthy uses natural materials and most often works in natural settings where pieces are subject to the vagaries of weather.

Topics for discussion: If art was made in a forest and no one was there to see it, would it still be art? Can there be a truly lasting nature to any art object? Should the artist be quiet and faceless, never an intruder on nature? Does the fact that Goldsworthy photographed (and then sold photos of) his ephemeral works make us wonder about the purity of his intentions?

Happy New Year! 2011

2011-01-01T16:30:00.006-07:00

"Fan Dance" mixed media collage

"Elgee Stalks The Moo Shu" mixed media collage

Oliver Sacks wrote yesterday in the New York Times that one's New Year's resolutions (and here I ineptly paraphrase) should focus on the brain as much as the commonly made self promises to lose weight, eat healthily and work out on a regular basis.

I decided that some art and mind resolutions would be a great idea - after all, why not expand my 2011 goals so at this time next year, I can evaluate my compliance on a range of scales other than that nasty, inaccurate one in the bathroom? Intellectual, Philosophical, Artistic?

1. Since my last post was about my upcoming workshop in Tuscany, I'll start with a realistic goal of getting through all 12 of my Italian tapes before next September. Not that one really needs to speak Italian in Italy - getting completely lost in back alleys can lead to intriguing experiences there - but then, perhaps even greater opportunities exist for those more diligent students of Italian. I'm reminded of a recent trip when a car driven by an "only Italian" speaker left our lodgings, speeding towards Florence with my suitcase, which should have been heading with me to Piza.

2. It's been several years since I began my current series of collages. (Click here to see some examples.) More spontaneous and experiential than my paintings, and occasionally more narrative, I've been procrastinating about translating some of the collages into paint. This has been under the guise of telling myself that I've been reaching for a form these translations could take that would be as spontaneous a process as the one I use for the collages, rather than just using the images and blowing them up to canvas size.

Come on, Sandra, JUST DO IT.

3. We've just watched a film by Bruno Wollheim, "David Hockney, A Bigger Picture", in preparation for a class my husband and I will be teaching during February and March at the Art Students League of Denver titled "Art Goes To The Movies".

Hockney decided to return to England, and for the first time, to eliminate his photo references and paint "En Plein Air". Watching his experimentation with oils and freedom with color , I couldn't wait to get back into the studio. I'll wait until spring for my total "en plein air" experience, but the muddy locales of Yorkshire were less inspiration for me than watching the hand of the artist work.

Today, though at home, I dove into my paints.

4. One more. Being more disciplined with my time would certainly help me with # 1 thru #3. Although my best guess is that this resolution is unrealistic, given my bad record of adhering to a schedule.

I need at least one resolution likely to remain unfulfilled during the coming year. Then I'll have a good start on my resolutions for 2012.

"Tuscan Inspiration" A Painting Workshop in Italy With Sandra Kaplan

2010-12-06T15:38:00.004-07:00

above: "Looking West" acrylic by Sandra Kaplan

Announcing my next Italian workshop, coming September 17 to September 27, 2011, near Lucca, Italy. This will be my third visit to Selva, and one that I eagerly anticipate.

Please join me for ten glorious days in Tuscany

You’ll enjoy excursions to charming hill towns, seaside villages, the Chianti region, Lucca, Baroque gardens, Renaissance estates and villas, farmhouses, wineries and olive mills . . . all for 2300 Euros.

The price is inclusive of everything from the time you are picked up at the Pisa airport or Lucca train station until you are returned there with the exception of three lunches to give you independent painting time. Instruc-tion, inspiration and coaching from Sandra Kaplan, as well as meals, wine, off-site excursions with guides, a cooking lesson and gracious accommodations are all part of the workshop fee. Airfare is not included in the course price.

To see complete course description,

details and booking forms, visit www.abbondanzatoscana.com

or contact:

abbondanzatoscana@gmail.com

You’ll be a Guest in a 15th Century Tuscan Farmhouse

The rustic country home of Selva has been lovingly restored yet retains all the charm of its origins on the 1000-year-old Tenuta di Forci wine and olive oil estate, a uniquely preserved property in the Lucca hills. Selva’s old barn, with its traditional latticed terra cotta windows, houses our cooking school kitchen, a rustic room with mod-ern equipment. The grand fireplace and wood-fired oven add to the old world ambience while guests appreciate 21st century comfort with modern bath-rooms, central heating and spacious rooms.

Lucca . . . . its Renaissance walls enclose a perfectly preserved medieval treasure house only 20 minutes from Selva. You can join the Lucchese in their evening passeggiata (stroll) through the streets, sip a cappuccino in Puccini’s fa-vorite bar and enjoy a gelato in a shaded piazza.

Lucca is also a shopper’s para-dise for linens, laces, leather, ceramics and its famous regional olive oil.

The Tuscan Painting Workshop offers you wonderful food for the body as well as the soul. Meals are prepared in the Tuscan style, and you’ll enjoy making your own pizza on our traditional pizza night. Pre-dinner aperitivi and antipasti under the leafy pergola provide time for friendly and helpful critiques of the day’s painting. Some evenings present the opportunity to attend a special event, such as a musical concert in the Duomo or a retrospective of a local artist’s work.

Selva’s shady pergola as interpreted by Sandra Kaplan in her “Terraza”

In the Abbondanza Toscana kitchen, you can complement your painting artistry as you join our Tuscan chef in the kitchen to learn how to prepare regional specialties. Fresh and locally produced ingredients are the key to the wonderful foods you’ll enjoy with us. Whether you are an experienced cook, taste-tester, or wine pourer, all are wel-come in our kitchen.

Painting themes on the estate include vineyards, olive groves, flower gardens, the rustic winery and olive mill, farmhouses, chestnut groves and majestic cypress trees. Plus you’ll find all manner of charming vignettes with overflowing pots of flowers and lemon trees, our gardens filled with herbs and vegetables, colorful ce-ramics and rustic brickwork.

Even the humble orto (vegetable garden) provides inspiration in Sandra Kaplan’s “Selva Orto”

Excursions away from the farmhouse have been chosen with your painter’s eye in mind:

 The jewel city of Lucca with its romantic by-ways, Romanesque churches, and its famous walls that were once a fortification and now offer a tree-lined boulevard for walking and biking. Plus we’ll spend one day at a formal Lucca garden with its statuary, lemon grove and architectural features.

 Enchanting Chianti hill towns will charm you with their piazzas, colorful markets, balcony gardens, and tiny restaurants, pleasing to the art-ist’s palette and palate.

 Seaside visit to our favorite fishing village where an imposing fortress, colorful boats and views of the Gulf of Poets are waiting to inspire you . . . or the fresh seafood lunch you can enjoy.

 Ancient stone bridge, known locally as Devil’s Bridge, the arched structure was built in the 11th century. Find a perfect spot for sketching the unique architecture.

"Best Curated Show"

2010-11-20T10:57:00.004-07:00

Many thanks to all who voted for my show as "Best Curated Show".

"I Paint Therefore I Am" was selected as the winner.

I'm especially grateful to the artists who produced such a beautiful show: Suzanne Kramer, Kathy Knaus, Elke McGuire, Terry Buswell, Tina Rowe, Mat Hardwick, Lynn Feiger, and Katharine Smith Warren. And to Cheryl Spector and Denise Robert for providing such an accommodating space and support for the exhibit.

"Best Curated Show"

2010-11-17T23:03:00.003-07:00

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that last spring, I curated a painting show, "I Paint Therefore I Am" at the 910 Arts Gallery in Denver.

I recently was informed that I'm a finalist in the category "Best Curated Show" in the " Art District Best of 2010 ".

So if you'd like to vote for me, (and I hope you will) please go to:

http://danacain.com/art-district-best-2010/

and cast your ballot.

Be sure to click on "Submit" when you're finished.

And Thanks!

Art Show and Sale

2010-11-09T16:19:00.006-07:00

This Sunday, a number of my small works are included in a show and sale at Denver's historic McCourt Mansion, 555 8th Avenue at Pearl Street, Denver 80203, from 10 AM to 3 PM. Make sure to come, and take one of the scheduled tours of the mansion. Perhaps you'll even see a friendly ghost or two.

Ghosts and Art- a hard combination to beat!

I'll be selling the T-shirt I designed as a fund raiser for the Rocky Mountain PeriAnesthesia Nurses Association. You can see the design above. The image was drawn on my IPhone in the "Brushes" program, my new sketch book and favorite art toy. The cost of the t-shirt is $18, and a portion will benefit RMPNA.

New Collage "Feathered Friends"

2010-10-18T16:39:00.003-06:00

Plein Air Painting From Cannon Beach

2010-09-20T13:51:00.003-06:00

What summer was that?

It seems as if it was yesterday that I was packing up my bags and art supplies to teach a June workshop in Cannon Beach, Oregon, just two hours from Portland.

I'll spare you most of the gory details, but in the middle of my workshop, I had a silly argument with an exacto knife, finished the workshop, flew home to Denver to have my tendon and nerve reattached at University of Colorado Health Sciences center, and have been re-cooperating and doing physical therapy ever since.

Above is one plein air painting from that trip, still wet from it's finishing touches done in the studio. It's a 12" x 16" acrylic of the coastal rocks as seen from the cliffs of Ecola State Park. More to come.

Portrait of Matt Hardwick Painting His Self Portrait

2010-05-17T13:48:00.008-06:00

This is a photo I took of our pond this winter - there is a patch of snow on a rock that looked like the eye Matt is painting in his portrait below.

Photos From The "I Paint Therefore I Am" Artists Tea

2010-03-30T21:42:00.007-06:00

All photos courtesy of Denise Robert.

Invitation to Tea

2010-03-23T12:59:00.002-06:00

To enlarge image, please click on the word "Artists".

Tonight on Channel 12

2010-03-23T12:42:00.004-06:00

KBDI PBS has won the Colorado Broadcasters Association 2009 Award of Excellence for Allen True's West

Special Encore Presentation Tonight:

Allen True's West

To mark the final week of the Allen
True’s West exhibits at the Colo-
rado History Museum and Denver
Art Museum, KBDI presents this en-
core presentation of ALLEN
TRUE'S WEST, a KBDI original
production that showcases the life
and art of Colorado’s foremost
muralist, whose later work captured
the character of a region in trans-
ition from wild frontier to the modern
West.

Cancellation of Autism Society Event

2010-03-19T11:11:00.003-06:00

Sorry friends, but if any of you were planning tonight to attend the benefit for the Colorado Autism Society at 910Arts Gallery, it has been cancelled because of the snow.

Where are all those tough Coloradoans when you need them?

If the event is re-scheduled, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, please pass the word.

Press from "I Paint Therefore I Am"

2010-03-10T19:58:00.006-07:00

Here are some of the press clippings from the show I curated at 910Arts show.

"I Paint Therefore I Am" at 910Arts in Denver

2010-02-24T20:21:00.004-07:00

In my first serious curatorial effort, I introduce a group of artists who are in the early stages of showing professionally.

The artists of “I Paint Therefore I Am” share a strong visual sense, an individual personal view of the world, and clarity about image and color. These artists have each studied with me, and it has been my joy to watch them emerge as accomplished, mature painters.

If you live in or near Denver, please join us for the opening of "I Paint Therefore I Am" at the 910 Arts Event Center, 910 Santa Fe Drive, on Friday evening, March 5, from 6 to 9 PM.

In addition to the First Friday opening, a number of special events surround the show, Including a benefit for the Autism Society, a Saturday afternoon Artist's Tea, and Movie Night with a film introduced by film critic, filmmaker and teacher Robert Denerstein. See the dates and times of these events below.

Only 3 Artist' Spots Left!

2010-01-21T19:16:00.002-07:00

Response to the announcement about my Cannon Beach workshop has been very exciting. We have only 3 participant spots left, so if you'd like to come, get your deposit in soon!
Just to clear up one misunderstanding (my fault) from the announcement of the workshop - the workshop ends after breakfast Friday morning, June 11. We will not be painting as a class that day.

Cannon Beach Artist's Retreat

2010-01-02T11:24:00.005-07:00

Above: Sandra Kaplan's watercolor of rocks in Squirrel Island, Maine

The response to this upcoming workshop has been exciting. A number of deposits have already been received. If you are thinking of joining this group, please contact me or just send in your deposit to insure your place.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T11:20:00.002-07:00

Cannon Beach Artist's Retreat

2009-12-19T17:14:00.012-07:00

"Patti's Rainbow", a photo by Patti Spranger taken at Cannon Beach

"Haystack Rock" another of Patti's photos showing Cannon Beach's most distinctive geological formation

A plein air watercolor by Sandra Kaplan of a dramatic rocky coastline

Another watercolor by Sandra of a view of the ocean from a rocky precipice

Join Sandra Kaplan in Cannon Beach, Oregon, June 5 through June 11 for her Artist's Ocean Retreat.

Cannon Beach is a 2 hour drive due west from Portland, Oregon. This quaint village nestled on the gorgeous Northern Oregonian coast, is dotted with art galleries, shops and restaurants. From the long, sandy beach one can see Haystack Rock, rising 335 feet above the water. The Rock is a prime nesting spot for cormorants, sandpipers and puffins. One may find starfish, anemones and hermit crabs while walking along the water, and discover the mysteries of tide pools.

Classes will be held at our accommodations, on the beach, and during field trips. One day will be spent combining objects and found materials (collage) with paint. Numerous side trips to explore, walk and paint on this rugged coast are planned. Artists working in all mediums are welcome. Emphasis will be on expressing a spontaneous artistic response to our environment in a supportive group experience.

We will stay at the Blue Gull Inn, a perfect beach getaway located 150 feet from the water and 3 blocks from downtown Cannon Beach. The cottages / guest rooms are located around a central courtyard with a Spanish style fountain and rose garden. All rooms are smoke and pet free. Wireless Internet access is available for all guests.

The workshop is limited to 12 participants. Non-participants are welcome on a space available basis. The fee for this spectacular setting and time with Sandra is $1100. Included in the fee is 6 nights lodgings, 5 continental breakfasts, 5 lunches, snacks, 2 dinners and 4 and one half days of classes.

Fee and Payment

$1100 - workshop, 6 nights lodging, 12 meals

$800 - non-participant, shared room, 12 meals

$200 deposit required upon sign up, non refundable

1/2 balance due March 30, 2010

Final payment due May 1, 2010

SIGN UP BEFORE JANUARY 30, 2010 AND RECEIVE A $100 DISCOUNT FOR WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS, $50 FOR NON- PARTICIPANTS.

Accommodations will be assigned on a first come first served basis, so sign up soon.

Show Extended By Popular Request

2009-11-28T11:53:00.004-07:00

Above: "Tea Time" mixed media collage, 11" X 13" UF; 25" X 27" Framed

By popular request, Sandra Kaplan's Collages at Shaver-Ramsey Fine Oriental Carpets, 2414 E 3rd Ave
Denver, CO 80206-4704, (303) 320-6363, has been extended a week, to Monday, December 7th, 2009.

Click HERE to see the collages.

Shaver-Ramsey's hours are Monday Through Saturday, 10 to 6, and Sunday, 11 to 5.

Please don't miss this most unusual collaborative installation.

A generous portion of sales (collages, rugs and jewelry) will benefit the Eating Disorder Foundation of Colorado. Donations are also being accepted.

Installation Photos by Alexandra Sheremet

2009-11-17T15:43:00.003-07:00

The color is so much more luscious in Alexandra's installation photos of my show at Shaver-Ramsey - I had to post them. You can also get more of a sense of the whole space - she used a wide angle lens.

Individual shots of each collage can be seen by clicking HERE.

More from Shaver-Ramsey

2009-11-13T12:39:00.006-07:00

Here are some installation shots of the exhibition.

The energetic folks at Shaver-Ramsey re-hung each of their showrooms to emphasize the visually collaborative nature of this show. Subject, pattern, color and designs in the collages and the rugs work together to tell stories and enhance each other.

Click here to see all of the available collages in my show at Shaver-Ramsey Fine Rug Gallery in Cherry Creek.

A generous portion of each sale will benefit the Eating Disorder Foundation of Denver.

My Collages at Shaver Ramsey

2009-11-10T22:03:00.004-07:00

My small works from the past several years will finally have a public venue.

My collages will be shown in arguably the most unusual installation ever - hung on top of specially selected carpets from the spectacular modern and antique fine rug collection of Shaver-Ramsey in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver.

The exhibition continues from Thursday, November 12 through November 30.

I will be in the gallery Saturday, November 14, 3 PM to 6 PM and Friday, November 20, 3 PM to 6 PM, but the exhibit can be viewed during normal business hours: Monday - Saturday, 10 - 6, and Sunday 11 - 5.

Shaver-Ramsey is located at 2414 East Third Avenue, Cherry Creek North, Denver, CO 80206.

A generous portion of sales will benefit the Eating Disorder Foundation of Denver.

My ASLD classes Show at The Reserve List

2009-11-10T21:51:00.002-07:00

My classes at the Art Students League of Denver now have a group show, organized by our class monitor and artist extraordinaire Elke McGuire.

More than 25 artists have work on display, in a wide range of personal styles.

It's in the tasting room of The Reserve List, a fine wine shop at 1886 S. Pearl St., (corner of Jewell Ave.), Denver, CO 80210.

Phone 303-722-LIST.

The show will run through November 30.

Store hours: Monday 4 PM - 8 PM,

Tuesday through Saturday 12 PM - 8 PM,

Sunday 12 PM - 6 PM.

More on "The Art of Women" at Denver International Airport

2009-11-10T21:48:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd let you all know that the DIA exhibit is on Concourse A, level 3, near the Mesa Restaurant. Unfortunately, you must be ticketed to see it. There is also "teaser" exhibit of 5 cases on concourse C. I don't know where my pieces are.

Women's Show to Move To DIA

2009-10-19T17:01:00.004-06:00

Those of you who missed the beautiful show, "The Art Of Women" that Andra Archer and the Archer Concept Group curated for Republic Plaza last summer have another chance, particularly if you're traveling by plane in the next few months.

Most of the show will be on view in a few weeks at the Denver International Airport, on the "A" and "C" concourses. Three of my landscapes are included.

Something to get your minds off those long security lines during the holidays.

"Space Travel","Industrial Man","First Class"."Elsie", and "Beetlebasket"

2009-09-22T21:53:00.004-06:00

Here are a few more of my recent collages - the human presence continues to haunt me, plus some bugs. It must be the approach of fall and Halloween.

Human Invasion, Sort Of

2009-09-12T19:40:00.005-06:00

Some of my most recent collages, at 11" X 13" unframed a bit larger than previous ones, have incorporated human images. This comes as a shock to me, because for years I've been explaining the flowers in my work as possible metaphoric people. But REAL ones? And is this impulse from my unconscious or a ghost in our house or outer space?

My passion for Sudoku, an unexpected trip to the circus, a garage sale find of Fortune magazines from about 1933, and our family's interest in green tea have provided much of the material for these recent works, but I wonder whether human imagery will soon also crop up in my paintings. Then I'll need to totally re-think what the work is about.

From the top, the titles of these collages are:

Sudoku+

Earth to Kooza

Tea Time

Green Tea

Tea Quilt

More On "Brushes" And My IPHONE

2009-09-03T15:03:00.006-06:00

Most of my battery life has been used up painting on my phone. Not such a great "phone" at that, considering the failed and dropped calls, but such an amazing tool in other ways. My new sketch book, address book, calendar, news source, e-mail tool. I feel as if I've skipped a century, technologically speaking. Now if I could just get through a phone call without having to call back and apologize for the lost connection!

Airplanes and IPhones

2009-08-20T17:49:00.003-06:00

Four images painted during a recent airplane trip are shown above. It's amazing how my new phone can make the time traveling bearable. The hours speed by. I used only my fingers as a tool, and the "Brushes" application. A stylus would perhaps make the drawings more exact, but I enjoy the clumsiness, which prevents me from being compulsively accurate.

"Out of the Mud"

2009-08-04T23:14:00.004-06:00

Just finished this canvas of the waterlily and lotus pond at Hudson Gardens in Littleton, Colorado. I've painted several versions of this pond - the frustration of always looking at it through the reeds and grasses which surround the water seems a metaphor for so much of life - futilely reaching for that object of desire.

"The Blue Tree"

2009-07-18T23:25:00.002-06:00

The first painting I've completed from my recent workshop in Santa Fe, a gate in the midst of Mrs. Bobb's garden.

"The Art of Women" In Downtown Denver

2009-07-18T22:51:00.003-06:00

Andra Archer and the Archer Concept Group have curated a surprisingly strong show consisting of very diverse images from 31 of Colorado's women artists. I'm pleased to be included. I was unfamiliar with a number of the artists, and enjoyed seeing all of the work, mostly wall pieces but some sculpture.

The show is co-sponsored by Brookfield Properties and the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce, and continues until August 19th on the main and lower levels of the Republic Plaza, in downtown Denver.

Elspeth Bobbs' Gardens

2009-06-29T21:17:00.009-06:00

Thanks to David (owner of Blue Lake Ranch, and the Don Gaspar Compound) Alford's online introduction to garden photographer Charles Mann, my group of painters had the rare privilege of painting for a day in Mrs. Elspeth Bobbs' gardens, La Querencia, just a bit away from Canyon Road in Santa Fe.

The individual gardens, each with its own theme, are visually, intellectually and perhaps botanically challenging. The Funky Shui garden, for example, pokes fun at most of the world's major religions. Under development is a labyrinth demonstrating the theory of evolution. Another garden has at its center King Arthur's sword. Hiding in one of my photos above is a dragon. It's difficult to give a sense of the whole.

Here is a selection from the 400 photos I took during a sun drenched day last week.

Photos From My Santa Fe Workshop

2009-06-28T21:42:00.027-06:00

Lynn Diamond paints in the shade of a small porch at the Don Gaspar Compound.

After shoulder surgery a few weeks before the workshop, right handed Kathy Knaus successfully painting with her left hand.

Marsha Feuer and Kathy Knaus paint adobe buildings.

Suzanne Kramer, Lynn Diamond, and Patti Spranger having lunch in the garden of the Don Gaspar Compound.

Suzanne Maxwell and Judi Weiss painting in Rick and Wendy's private desert garden.

Group photo from the left: Suzanne Kramer, Lynn Diamond, Judy Weiss, Terry Buswell,Kathy Knaus, Sheila Carter, Marsha Feuer, Patti Spranger, Mrs. Bobbs - the creator of this spectacular and intellectually inspired garden,

Me, and Suzanne Maxwell.

Sandra speaking with Mrs. Elspeth Bobbs.

Suzanne Kramer and Young Hee Back enjoy the desert landscape.

Bert Lutgens in a contemplative mood at the Don Gaspar.

Terry Buswell interprets the landscape in her abstraction of Mrs. Bobbs' garden.

Sheila Carter with her sister Wendy Schiller in the Don Gaspar Garden.

"Red Vines"

2009-06-26T23:17:00.004-06:00

Yes, I've been busy. And I hope to catch up with reporting my recent art activities in the coming week. This is another new painting, "Red Vines", continuing my exploration of hidden, or obscured images.

"Forbidden Bridge"

2009-06-26T23:10:00.002-06:00

Artbabble

2009-04-07T22:52:00.005-06:00

Not often do I begin my day with such an exciting discovery.

From an article in The New York Times this morning, I learned that the Indianapolis Museum of Art has just launched a new website to link the world to videos about art - from the Museum of Modern Art, Art21, and numerous other museum and library sources. It's called artbabble. Few other sites reward frequent visits so educationally and entertainingly.

It's great looking , very clean and well designed, easy to navigate, and extremely dangerous to your time. Once there, I found so much to capture my interest, time disappeared. Luckily, a phone call forced reality back upon me, and I escaped to my studio.

Most of the videos are in high definition.

Check this out today!

5280 Magazine

2009-04-06T12:41:00.004-06:00

Just thought you might like to see the mention DYAO's "Painted Violin Project" received from 5280 Magazine.

Trash

2009-03-27T17:12:00.004-06:00

Remember the cliche about "one man's trash" being another's "treasure"?

Once I began to save appealing chocolate wrappers and make collages of them, I realized that I was looking at all household packaging with a different eye. Perhaps I would need that background for my next piece, or "what a strange re-purposing of that word" - Perhaps I could restore its meaning in a collage, or use irony to further obliterate the meaning of the word. Advertising words started jumping out at me at strangely inappropriate times. "light", "green", "crush", "dove", etc.

I take daily walks with my dog, Elgee. Occasionally, I spy lenses from a broken flashlight, or a series of cardboard dots that say "HA", which I put in my pocket for future use. I pass on the many cigarette packs, wondering why smokers seem more prone to toss their trash on the ground that purchasers of premium chocolate, whose wrappers I never find. I can't make art out of cigarette wrappings.

I spent some time with another artist who does collages, trading material. I began to feel a bit uncomfortable about using something I hadn't found or purchased for another use. Something that hadn't come from my home or hunger or need seemed strangely inauthentic. There is a different connection to my own trash, which now mostly goes to the studio before being offered to a dumpster. I'm becoming a diarist through the detritus of daily life.

Images have always been easier than words for me, but now the two seem to be forming a meaningful relationship.

Another Santa Fe Painting, "Chillies"

2009-03-23T22:42:00.002-06:00

"Chillies" is a 32" X 32" oil on canvas, painted after a recent trip to Santa Fe.

Painting Santa Fe Color Workshop

2009-03-23T22:14:00.009-06:00

“Alfred Morang House”, above, painted in Santa Fe

A Plein Air Painting Retreat with Sandra Kaplan

Spend five nights and four June days at the spectacular Don Gaspar Inn in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This award-winning Bed and Breakfast, a short walk to Santa Fe’s historic Plaza, will be home for the nights of June 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, 2009.
Sandra Kaplan will provide a small group of artists personalized guidance and attention in a workshop that will include critiques and discussions, in addition to four days of painting. Special attention will be paid to the remarkable quality of light and color in New Mexico.
We will visit the Acequia Madre, the oldest irrigation ditch in the US, and several galleries and museums. Hidden private gardens and Chimayo are possibilities.
This workshop is limited to about 10 participants. Non-participants are welcome on a space available basis.

Media: watercolor, acrylic, oil, mixed

Ability Level: sociable artists looking for new challenges

Workshop Details:

Lodging at the Don Gaspar Inn the nights of June 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 with breakfast each morning
Four day Plein Air workshop with lunch
Taxes are included, but gratuities are not

Fees and payment schedule:

Workshop & private room / bath may be shared: $1100

A non-refundable $300 deposit is due by April 10, 2009

A $50 discount will be given to those sending in deposits by March 30, 2009

The fee balance is due by May 15, 2009

Contact Information and Inquiries:

Sandra Kaplan

sankapl@yahoo.com

Other information about the Don Gaspar Inn may be found at by clicking here.

My Chocolate Phiolin

2009-03-15T22:53:00.005-06:00

Finally, I can show you my contribution to the Denver Young Artist's Orchestra's fund raiser, "The Painted Violin". Click DYAO to see the other entries, and to buy a raffle ticket.

This collaged violin uses images from some of my obsessions - Sudoku puzzles, Fibonacci numbers, Premium Chocolate wrappings.

Check Out this Art Business Blog

2009-03-04T18:05:00.008-07:00

Katharine Smith Warren, an experienced art advisor, artist and blogger suggests the Art Biz Blog to those of you interested in promoting your own work, or in need of art business advice.

I love to check in and see what Katharine has been painting. She shows her own paintings at www.smithwarrenart.blogspot.com.

Alyson B. Stanfield writes the Art Biz Blog, and each time I read it, I find surprisingly informative and useful ideas for promotion, checking out and dealing with galleries, and info on a myriad of other art related subjects.

End of the Rocky Mountain News

2009-02-27T20:13:00.003-07:00

This has been a very sad day in our house. Today, the Rocky Mountain News published its last edition, just months shy of 150 years.

My husband, Robert Denerstein, worked there for 31 years, 27 as Movie Critic. He accepted a buyout several years ago, but still reviews movies at www.rockymountainmovies.com. His eulogy to the paper appears on his blog today. It's the most moving article you'll read on the subject, and certainly better than anything I'd write. Click here to read it.

Copyright Law for Visual Artists

2009-02-17T22:29:00.003-07:00

In answer to a number of comments and questions I've received concerning the use of photos by artists, I've discovered a number of links with more authoritative answers than I can give. I have no legal expertise in these matters except for that based on my personal experience, and nothing I write should be taken as legal advice.

Every visual artist needs to have familiarity with copyright law.

For an understandable overview of the issues involved, read Thomas G. Field Jr. at the Franklin Pierce Law School in New Hampshire. This Law School seems to take a special interest in the study of intellectual property issues.

For incite into what constitutes "Fair Use" of images, I found an interesting list of four points to consider in the Stanford Law School Library.

An extensive list of copyright resources for visual artists has been prepared by Sandra L. Brown, MFA, MSLS, a teacher in the Art Department of the Southwest Baptist University.

I'm sure there are many other, perhaps even better resources to check, but this is a start.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T09:10:00.004-07:00

Photos from News Sources for Making Art

2009-02-10T12:15:00.002-07:00

Frequently, the subject comes up in art classes: creating paintings by using photos from magazines and newspapers.

I discuss my preference for using one's own photos, or transforming the source until it is unrecognizable, a jumping off point for creativity. Yes, I know about Photo-realism and Appropriationism. Both entail philosophical differences from the usage I'm discussing. The direct use of a news photo may violate a copyright.

Please check out a current case in an article from the New York Times, "Artist Sues The A.P. Over Obama Image". This preemptive case brought by artist Shepard Fairey against the Associated Press should be worth following.

"Red Flower Oil"

2009-02-09T22:11:00.002-07:00

A Tai Chi teacher suggested Red Flower oil for various muscle aches and pains. I'm not sure how effective the treatment was, but the trip to the west side to get it led to an interesting multicultural bargain shopping experience, and the packaging was beautiful.

The Trip I Didn't Take

2009-01-25T16:16:00.007-07:00

My friend Sura Ruth, an artist in NYC, recently sent me a photo of a woman standing "in" a 360 degree work of art comprised of maps. She had seen me do works with a similar "viewer to work of art" relationship.

I have done several 360 degree works, in hopes of capturing the feeling of being "in" a work of art, of being "at one" with it, and making the viewing experience more "experiential". Very large scale can contribute to that feeling, if a viewer isn't able to focus on any one point in the painting. The first image above is a partial view of "Unabridged", a 12 canvas oil painting which is 5.5 feet high by 24 feet long, a 360 degree view of a Japanese garden. The complete painting may be seen by clicking here. At this same link please notice a painting titled, "Darwin and Me", which relates to this post.

But the second image above, a collage titled, "The Trip I Didn't Take", which incorporates the image from Sura, takes a completely unexpected turn. It is only 6" X 10", an intimately scaled collage. The maps reminded me of a trip to the Galapagos which I had been scheduled to take as visual arts director of an art travel company called "Artsafield". Artsafield proved financially unviable in this economic climate.

I have long wanted to visit the site of Darwin's inspiration for his theories, but that trip will have to wait until other times.

The Color "Gray"

2009-01-13T22:58:00.008-07:00

Monday, I returned from a short family visit to southern Ohio.

The person responsible for making "gray" synonymous with heavy, downcast, impenetrable, cold and damp, dreary, sickly, ashen and threatening must have been born in Cincinnati. Although, to be honest, the sun did peek out Sunday for about 30 seconds, the heavy cloud cover suggested no promise that any blue might float above. Those perpetually gray winter skies reminded me of one reason I've come to love Colorado.

In Denver, gray skies have entirely different emotional weight for me.

Denver gray is an optimistic symbol of constant change, offers protection from the sun, and is a nurturing rather than threatening promise of snow or rain.

While gray may indicate something "neither here nor there", as an artist, I place no value judgement on a color midway between white and black. The gorgeous "grays" which result from mixing two complimentary colors plus white excite and inspire me. I have already recognized that geography can change one's choices of color, e.g. orange and yellow, but I never before considered the impact of that same geography on neutrals.

Mea Culpa

2009-01-13T22:53:00.002-07:00

OOPS! I'm so sorry to you and the DYAO. The images of the violins were to be kept secret until the public unveiling on March 7. So if you think you saw a photo of my violin here, please forget you ever saw it until I re-post it later.

Chocolate Phiolin

2009-01-08T16:33:00.008-07:00

Each year, the Denver Young Artists Orchestra invites about 10 visual artists to paint a violin. These are then offered to the public by raffle during a May fund raiser. When the raffle is listed on the DYAO website, I'll link to it.

Soon, I will show you "Chocolate Phiolin", a violin collaged with candy and coffee wrappers, sudoku puzzles, painted fibonacci numbers. Some of my obsessions. The ratio of each successive pair of numbers in the fibonacci series has the ratio of 1.618...., which in mathematics is called "phi".

This numeric sequence is related to musical scales and harmonics.

Happy Sweet New Year 2009

2009-01-01T16:50:00.002-07:00

How do I begin a painting?

2008-12-22T18:12:00.002-07:00

Lately, a number of beginning or returning students have asked,"Where do I begin? I feel so stuck."

I usually try to talk them through a logical process of elimination. After all, you can't put every idea into every painting. Let's boil it down to the message of this painting only. Let's put those other ideas which are inconsistent, or which dilute the main idea, into a sketch book of ideas for later. What constitutes a "painting idea"?

But sometimes that process doesn't work. Some artists freeze up when confronted with the request for logic. Sometimes one needs a new direction. Or to express something that can't be said in the style or with the medium or with the subject matter one has been using.

And those are the times I suggest that artists just dive in. Don't allow time for conscious thought. Just grab the first thing near you, and turn it into something different. A sewing store with a sale on zippers, a hardware store with a great assortment of sandpaper, or that beautiful foil candy wrapper from that 70 o/o dark chocolate bar you've just eaten in your frustration can guide you in an unexpected and new direction.

Obsession and Frustration

2008-12-22T17:34:00.002-07:00

Titled "Behind the Fence", this collage is probably a sketch for a painting. My recent series of paintings depicts obscured images. In a previous post, I wrote about "Hiding", a view of a lotus pond through tall grasses.

I've just completed "You Can't Get There From Here", and will post it soon as it is photographed.

I'm not sure how my collection of chocolate wrappers fits into all of this, but in my passion for dark chocolate, I began to notice that I loved the wrappers and was saving them. Also, I found myself picking a chocolate bar for its wrapper rather than its percentage of chocolate. Perhaps loving chocolate and wanting to lose weight may be related to images of frustration?

Feeling Rain and Abundance

2008-12-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

Walking Elgee

2008-12-07T17:39:00.003-07:00

More Collages

2008-12-01T15:05:00.006-07:00

What are the Big Ideas driving the arts these days?

2008-12-01T14:13:00.005-07:00

This is part of an article found in the London Sunday Times. For the whole article, click on the link in red.

I think much of contemporary art can be viewed through the lens described below. What do you think? Do Mark Quinn's comments help understand the seemingly directionless art scene today? What makes some art look cutting edge, or at least contemporary, and other work seem as if it was made 100 years ago? Your comments, as always, will be welcome.

From The Sunday Times

November 30, 2008

What are the big ideas driving the arts these days?
Sixteen experts identify the key concepts that are redefining the arts.

"Taking on the big issues: an installation in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall

Interviews by Steve Turner

Art

Marc Quinn, sculptor

One of the essential things of the moment is tackling embodiment in an age of disembodiment. We live in virtual space as much as we do in real space. It’s to do with using the internet, e-mails and all those forms of communication. A lot of my work explores what it means to be a body living in the world. The Kate Moss sculpture is about disembodiment, because it’s a sculpture not of her as a person, but of her image. We measure our lives against disembodied ideals. This is a human trait, but becomes more prominent with new technology.
I’m also interested in how we affect nature. Issues like climate change get refracted through the lens of my flower paintings. The flowers at the florists would never normally grow at the same time and in the same place. Many of them have been flown in. Human desire is shaping nature.
Developments in technology open up new opportunities as long as you can use them expressively. I’ve used DNA and I’ve frozen things. It means you can articulate contemporary concerns using contemporary technology.

Jessica Morgan, curator

In a curatorial sense, I am fascinated that few exhibitions try to take on really big issues. I think there is a certain amount of fear in the idea of taking them on. One result is that people look to the past. There has been a tendency to revert to the early stages of modernism. It was a point of utopian hope, experimentation and bold ideas of political change.
There has also been a type of artwork that allows the audience to create or complete it. I’m thinking of artists such as Carsten Höller, who made the slides at Tate Modern, or Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster [whose current show is in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall]. They take on the role of curator and to some extent allow the curator to be an artist.
The economic shift will affect the art world. One of the things I hope may fall by the wayside is the type of fashionable production created by the market. We’d all be better off without quite so many galleries and useless publications.
Jessica Morgan is a curator at Tate Modern"

Sandra Kaplan's Updated Website

2008-10-25T17:45:00.004-06:00

My website, www.sandrakaplan.com, has just been updated with many new images throughout, thanks to the technical expertise of my web advisor, Keith West.

There are two new "galleries". The first is titled "My Colorado", and shows my recent paintings with very personal Colorado subject matter and an unusual "take" on the West. The other is titled "Italy", and includes images painted during or in response to several recent workshops I've offered in Tuscany.

Please visit today!

Walking Near My Studio

2008-10-25T17:28:00.002-06:00

While trying to solve a difficult painting issue last week, I was walking past the corner of Lincoln and Maple when I found a tree staring at me. Lest you think that I've taken leave of my senses, please look to the right to see this unusual tree. I loved finding this face hidden in the branches, creative playfulness seemingly just for fun.

Mavericks for Obama

2008-10-25T17:10:00.005-06:00

These two sides of a single sign were seen in a south east Denver yard. Levity is such a relief in this tense political year!

Martin Puryear at the National Gallery in DC

2008-10-13T21:38:00.004-06:00

While I was in Washington, D.C., two months ago, serving on the NEA Museum Grants Panel for 2008, I saw the most beautiful and visually stimulating sculpture show I've seen in years, maybe ever: Martin Puryear at the National Gallery.

Today, I ran across the gallery brochure, which reminded me to tell you about the show, in hopes that you can catch it at its last stop, San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art , where the exhibition opens Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, and continues until Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009.

The exhibition was organized by the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Click to see a significant selection of pieces from the show in MOMA 's online exhibition.

So many sculptors currently use found objects without mastering the transformative process that makes these objects into art. Both technical skill and intimate connection to the sculptural materials seem in short supply. I'm tired of seeing old rags wrapped around a rusted bed frame presented as "art." In addition, we seldom are offered incite into the nature of the forms themselves, how a sculptor can view a particular item, then reimagine it in an incredibly powerful and more universal way.

Martin Puryear does that -- and more. He has superb technical and transformational skills. But he's also an internationalist, combining images from disparate cultures so that they emerge as cohesive visual staements, the work of someone with a profound and inspiring understanding of his medium.

New Acrylic Paint, "OPEN", from Golden

2008-10-12T22:40:00.005-06:00

Recently, I received in the mail a few sample colors of a new formulation of acrylic paints that is supposedly similar to oil in it's drying time. The name of the product is "OPEN", and you can get a great deal of technical information about it on Golden's web site. I particularly reccommend checking out their issue of "Just Paint" issue #19 on the subject of these paints.
I haven't yet experimented sufficently with these new colors to form a strong opinion. Getting the samples did remind me of a time, back in the Dark Ages, when I was a student at Pratt Institute, before acrylics were in wide usage. Some artists at the time, particularly the Washington Color School painters, were mixing their own, by adding dry pigments to a Rohm and Hass polymer medium.
One company with a name something like "Dutch Masters" or "New Masters" sent sample kits of the paints to members of my painting class. The colors were muddy, but we were thrilled to get free samples of any paint, and proceeded to experiment.
Thirty years later, I was in Cincinnati, helping my mother move from her house to an apartment, and cleaning out her attic. I found the paintings I had painted with some of those early acrylic paints. They were STILL TACKY.
This is a reminiscence, not meant to suggest that a proven and excellent company like Golden hasn't come up with an innovative and superior product. Golden has a reputation for working directly with professional artists to meet their individual requirements. As I paint in both acrylics and oils, choosing my medium in response to my needs of the moment, I'm curious as to whether I can find a unique use for this new product. I'd love to hear from those artists among you who have tried the paint, and hear your evaluations. Please post your comments. Mine will come at a later date.

Kathy Knaus Meat Paintings

2008-10-01T08:21:00.006-06:00

Kathy currently has an exhibition at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.

I have enjoyed watching Kathy's recent transformation: formerly an abstract painter, two years ago, a chance visit to an traditional Italian butcher shop re-directed her work, reminding her of her childhood spent in the family meat market.

As artists, we have so many meaningful encounters which could inform our work, but only do so when we are open to their potential. Kathy has connected the dots of her personal history in a way difficult for most artists. See these paintings on her web site by clicking here.

More on art and politics

2008-09-30T16:21:00.002-06:00

Reader had difficulty posting a comment so I'm including it as a regular post.
In future, if anyone has difficulty adding comment to the blog, let me know.
SK

Hey, Sandra, Matt again. Blogger wouldn't let me post the reply, so here it is:

Caught much of the debate on TV at a local pub, with the sound off and closed captioning on. Being an Aspie, I didn't catch the look-into-the-eye part, but watching McCain I did get the impression of someone on the defensive. The distortion ain't working -- as the polls I've seen (mainly Yahoo!s Political Dashbord) are any indication.

We artists would face very interesting times (in the Chinese curse sense of the word) in a McCain Administration, no?) Given the sparse amounts of grant cash available, the budget-cut part doesn't really concern me that much. At worst: a revival of shoestring macrame, so to speak.

What does concern me is that McCain would spoil the GOP's base even more by giving the appropriate Arts slots (if that's the right term) to folks with ideological blinders. At least Bush gave the NEA chair to Dana Gioia (probably because he used to be a business exec), who has done alright, in my humble (but limited) opinion. But should McCain get in...::shudders::

Anyway, my .02. Good post.

Art and the First Presidential Debate

2008-09-26T22:41:00.007-06:00

Politics!

How depressing can it become?

Who can make art when a mean spirited old man with no capacity for empathy wants to get his itchy fingers on the red button? A man who is so contemptuous of the American people that he would risk having an incompetent, inexperienced, right wing extremist as a vice president, just because that person is a woman? It's almost too much to bear.

I rushed home from the opening of my friend Kathy Knaus' art show, to watch the first presidential debate, and John McCain, who brags of his ability to work with those with whom he disagrees, was so condescending to Barack Obama that he couldn't even look him in the eye as he distorted Obama's record and message. Doesn't this tell us a great deal about his respect for those with ideas at variance with his own?

As an artist, it's terrifying when his answer to the economic disaster we now face, after 8 years of Republican administration, is the threat of a near total federal spending freeze. Imagine, for example, what that would do to the NEA, and countless art organizations around the country. All of our cultural institutions would decline, if they were able to continue existence at all. What about the Smithsonian and its numerous museums? The list is very long. And this is only one very small corner of our society which would be affected by such a drastic decision.

While not discussing specifics, Obama's response was that McCain would use a hatchet when a scalpel was needed.

You can read Barack Obama's position paper on the arts by clicking here.

We have gotten used to having guns and butter. I realize that some sacrifices may be necessary to right this economy. And, of course, the debate wasn't about art policy. But for many of us, the arts are essential to our lives, and we know that the arts are often the first to go when others try to define frivolity.

Back to Blogging

2008-09-22T11:07:00.004-06:00

Hello, Friends. Sorry for my long absence, due to some family health problems and travel.

One piece of news is that I've been working on an update of my website, www.sandrakaplan.com. In a few weeks, there will be a new "My Colorado" gallery page, a new "Italy" gallery page, a re-do of the "mostly small paintings" gallery page, plus many other smaller changes. I'll let you know when all are up and visible.

Since I last wrote, I've been traveling: to Italy, to Chicago, to Washington, DC, to the Colorado mountains. I'll try to play catch-up here during the next week or so.

"Terraza"

2008-07-21T21:44:00.002-06:00

A 12" X 16" acrylic, painted on a grey, damp day under the cover of mats and vines on the Terraza at Selva, our home for ten days in the Tenuta di Forci, in Italy.

"Pig Cabin" and "Lemon Tree"

2008-07-21T13:29:00.004-06:00

In May, I taught a painting workshop in Tuscany, in the mountains above Lucca.

Creating art in Italy is difficult.

How do I sort out my sense of overwhelm?

How do I cut through the burdensome sense of history, artistic masterpieces, nostalgia, cliché, movies I've seen, books I've read?

How do I make my experience more immediate? And should I?

Everything is so beautiful - where is the real world? Do I want to find it?

Is this like diabetic shock? Sugar overload?

As luck would have it, it rained six and one half days out of ten - beauty problem solved, which gave rise to another. Who would believe grey paintings of Tuscany in May?

"Hiding"

2008-07-20T21:04:00.004-06:00

One of my newest paintings is this 30" X 40" acrylic titled "Hiding". The image came to me walking along the magical paths of Hudson Gardens, a botanic gardens in Littleton, Colorado, just south of Denver. Tall grasses obstructed my view of the lilly pond, creating a sensation of seeking without being quite fulfilled. I like the ambiguities inherent in the name, "Hiding".

My Students at the ASLD, part 3

2008-05-07T22:09:00.003-06:00

Click here to see paintings by Terrel, Pricilla, Sandi, Pushpa, Gwen, and Suzanne. I really enjoy the diversity in my classes, as seen in this and my two previous posts. Perhaps the classes are best described as independent study.

My Students at the ASLD, part 2

2008-05-07T21:36:00.003-06:00

Click here to see the images in a larger size. Here are paintings by Elke, Young Hee, Claudia, Milissa, Patty, and Matt.

My Students Show at the ASLD

2008-05-07T17:38:00.004-06:00

My classes at the Art Students League of Denver focus on helping each artist find his or her own voice. Together, we explore how to make artistic statements as strongly and as clearly as possible. This process may be different for each artist.

Click here to see the first group of artists. Included are paintings by Tina, Phyllis, Katharine and Terry.

Until May 16th, some of my students have a show in the Student Wing Gallery on the second floor of the Art Students League. Each individual image in this blog is copyrighted by the artist who painted it.

Arno Motulsky and Color Vision

2008-05-05T09:33:00.003-06:00

On April 29th, I read an interview article in the NYT about genetics pioneer, Arno Motulsky. He is currently doing research in color blindness, and has discovered that 50% of males with normal vision have the amino acid alanine in the red pigment in their retinal cones, the other 50% have the amino acid serine at the same site. Read the article here.

The implications for artists seem interesting. Years ago, the philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, asked the question, here paraphrased: How do I know that when you see red, and when I see red, we are seeing the same color?

This research answers that question by saying that, no, we don't see the same color, or at least, males with "normal" color vision don't see the same color, due to their genetic makeup.

Many artists have assumed that people "see" through a sociological and cultural lens, e.g. how viewers interpret perspective, and that much of seeing is a learned process. Those who have their vision restored after a life-time of blindness need to re-learn how to negotiate their environment based on their new visual information. But we had thought that those with normal vision objectively would see the same color. I'm not sure what we can do with this new information, but it certainly kicks away our previous assumptions, and may create a new challenge for artists.

Congressional legislation to weaken US copyright law

2008-05-04T20:16:00.002-06:00

I've just received an e-mail from a fellow teacher at the Art Students League of Denver, Tom Stevens warning of proposed legislation now before the US congress to weaken the copyright protection.

It's difficult to imagine how much the current protection artists have for their creations would be weakened by this legislation.

Here is Tom's email:

"There is a measure before the U.S. Congress which would greatly weaken the copyright law. The legislation is intended to address a problem surrounding orphan works ... these are works which have no clear owner. The legislation will relax user restrictions and penalties for any violations. What this means is that all artists and photographers will need to take an active roll in protecting their work. Read More Here.

I would suggest that you write or e-mail your congressman (if you are in the U.S.). If you don't know who that is, here is where to find out. You would then need to go here, and send your congressman an e-mail."

If after reading this, you feel as strongly as I do about this matter, please write today.

Professional Photography of Paintings

2008-04-28T21:30:00.005-06:00

A few days ago, I had posted an image of this new painting, with an photo taken in the studio with my cell phone - a great tool for recording an auto-accident, but totally inadequate for reproducing paintings. No matter how much I fiddled with it in photoshop. the resulting picture was a distant cry from my painting, looking more like a night view than the sunset image sitting on my easel. My cell phone image appears at the top of this post.

After carting my paintings off to Paul Gillis, a wonderful painter, but also a professional photographer specializing in reproducing artists' work, Paul's results were ready in a few days. How poor my photo and computer efforts had been.

The second image above is Paul's photo of my work, a close to faithful representation.

Juror for the Louisville Fine Art Show 2008

2008-03-31T16:52:00.009-06:00

This year, I have been invited to be juror for The 23rd Annual National Fine Art Show, sponsored by the Louisville Art Association. The show will be held August 30 to September 7, 2008, in the Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant Street, Louisville CO, 80027. The cash prizes to be awarded total $3000.

Prospectus for this show.

Or contact: Louisville Art Association, C/O Donna Flebbe, 2391 Lavender Hill Lane, Lafayette, CO 80026.

June 2, 2008 is the deadline for receipt of the entries, so get moving. Judging from the quality of the images in last year's catalogue, this should be a very good show.

Benefit the Museum of Contemporary Art / Denver

2008-03-31T16:25:00.004-06:00

Several limbs have been trimmed from this tree on the north side of the large lake in Washington Park, Denver, since I photographed it and painted this painting, "Mothertree". I loved the horizontal- ity of the tree, the way it beckoned for one to climb into its branches, to become engulfed. Some of that feeling has been diminished by the hacking, but my tree still is the opposite of that one quality of tree-ness, verticality.

"Mothertree" is painted in oil on canvas, is 30" X 78", and is available for viewing and purchase in the development office of the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver. Please contact Scott Anderson at 303-298-7554. 100% of the proceeds will benefit MCA/D.

Near Minturn

2008-02-27T23:11:00.008-07:00

This unusual rock formation near the road between Minturn and Redcliff, Colorado, not far from Vail, has often caught my attention. Such an unusual geologic formation caused me to wonder whether a human had created this hole in the rock. My photo, shown at the left, had to become a painting.

As the acrylic painting began to develop, the color became more intense than in the photo. That saturation seemed to come from the other-worldly feeling I had in this spot. It also was a way to emphasize the hole in the rock, and the mountain behind it.

I also enjoy the unusual red flowers in the foreground, flowers I have been unable to identify. If anyone knows what they are, please let me know!

Working on this painting gave me insight into why I have often insisted that I am not a realist. At some point in my process, the painting became much more important to me than its subject, and the success of the painting required that the color, even the exact shape of the rock be changed. For example, without that "bite" I took out of the upper right corner of the rock, the space was unclear, and the hole harder to understand.

My completed painting, an acrylic, 40" x 30", titled "Near Minturn", is below.

"Spring on the San Juan River"

2008-02-23T12:09:00.005-07:00

Just this week I completed two new paintings from my "Colorado" series. The painting at left, "Spring on the San Juan River", is painted in acrylic on linen canvas, and is 40" x 30".

In the past, many of my paintings have used acrylic as an underpainting, then been completed in oil to increase the subtlety of the value and color. In "Spring on the San Juan River", I have been able to achieve the result I wanted with acrylics alone. Painted with loose transparencies that at times mimic watercolor, I found working in this manner very liberating.

Late spring is the time when the snow melt swells Colorado's rivers to their highest levels. Just watching rivers at this time creates an adrenaline rush. The extreme beauty masks the extraordinary danger the power of the water can present. I love this duality.

My May 2008 Workshop in Lucca, Italy

2008-02-21T13:50:00.003-07:00

There are still a few available places left for my workshop at Abbondanza Toscana in the Mountains above Lucca, Italy. The dates are May 17th through the 27th, and the price of 2100 EUROS includes everything except airfare, art materials, and a few sandwiches when we are painting on location.

The painting above, "Castello" was created from photos I took at one of the locations we visited during my 2006 workshop, the castle where the movie "Much Ado About Nothing" was filmed.

A number of very exciting painting locations have been scheduled for this upcoming trip, and I can't wait to return to Paula Sullivan's mystical retreat, Abbondanza Toscana, on the largest intact estate in Italy, the Tenuta di Forci. Of course, I also salivate at the mere thought of Emmanuela's Tuscan cuisine.