Wishing

"Wishing", 3x3', Oil on Canvas
from "My Mother's Youth" by my good friend Tracy Row

Kris Lewis at David B. Smith

On Saturday night we went to the new David B. Smith location (no longer on Santa Fe Dr.) to see the Kris Lewis opening. It was a very good show - you can view it online here. David B. Smith gallery is by far one of the most consistently high-quality and diverse galleries in Denver. If you haven't been to the new space on Wazee (between 15th and 16th) you should. This show will be up through September 12th - which will be here sooner than you think. Here are my two favorites from the show:

Kris Lewis, "Low Tides", Oil on Board, 36x24"

Kris Lewis, "White Flag", Oil on Board, 36x24"

Interestingly, the stripe on the left side of this painting was painted over to be a aspen trunk -which is how it was shown at the gallery. That must have been a late decision because this is the only version I've found of it online.

Three by Julian Kreimer

Julian Kreimer, Tape, oil on linen, 16 x 22 inches

Woods, oil on linen, 11 x 13 inches

Fence, Oil on Linen, 8x10"

I love the economy of these images - especially the fence paintings.

Simon Cantamir Hausi

installation view from the flog Berlin

Simon Cantemir Hausi

Simon Cantamir Hausi

Simon Cantamir Hausi, Swim in Organized Place, oil on canvas, 150x100cm, 2009

Simon Cantamir Hausi

Simon Cantamir Hausi

Simon Cantamir Hausi, untitled, oil on wood panel, 22x16 cm, 2008

Painting of the Day

John Hathorn - Small Decent

Jessica Ann Mills

I love these traced monotypes by Jessica Ann Mills. This is a technique frequently used by Paul Klee. Here's an example of how it works:

These are really nice, and very reasonably priced as well:

this one can be had at her etsy shop for just $225 - for an original work! one of one!

The Course of Empire

I've been doing a lot of reading and watching lately about "Peak Oil" - the point at which the demand for oil exceeds the supply. Basically the world's oil supply is a bell-curve and at some point every oil well hits its maximum output. From there on it will produce less and less. The US oil supply peaked in the 1970s, which is why so much of our oil is imported now (and will increase to be so). Some scientists believe the world oil supply has already peaked, others believe it will happen in the next one or two decades.

I watched, "A Crude Awakening" recently, and I'm looking forward to my next netflix dvd called "The End of Suburbia", which more directly relates oil shortage or running out of oil with the collapse or decline of suburbia - an environment organized entirely around the automobile.

In a recent Kunstlercast, author James Howard Kunstler references a painting series by Thomas Cole called "The Course of Empire" in which the rise and fall of a empire is depicted through five paintings. Although our future world without oil may not be this bleak, it will be a much different future.

Thomas Cole's series "The Course of Empire" from 1834-36
The Savage State
Pastoral State
The Consummation of Empire
The Destruction of Empire
Desolation

Images from WikiCommons