Usually, my paintings come about as a result of my experiences and whims, following inspiration wherever it comes. And at any given time, I typically have a mental list of at least a dozen paintings that I want to create. But occasionally I will see a call for artwork for an upcoming exhibit (called a Call For Entry, or CFE) at a gallery that will spark my interest, and then I will create something with that exhibit in mind. This happened recently when the Memento Mori Gallery in the 40 West Arts District in the Lakewood neighborhood of Denver posted a CFE for their “Skulls and Bones” exhibit celebrating their one-year anniversary. I immediately thought about the skulls found, or hanging, at my parents’ home in rural Missouri. So, on my last visit home, I photographed the skulls of a steer and a deer. Back in my studio in Colorado, these paintings were a lot of fun to create. I added color throughout both, shifting one toward white/silver and another toward a warmer yellow/gold. I’m very happy with how they turned out and am delighted that they both were accepted into the exhibit at Memento Mori, which runs Oct 6-28, 2023. Gallery hours are Tues - Sat, 12-7pm.
I Once Lived Where You Once Lived, a 20”x20” oil on canvas painting of a deer skull.
I Once Lived Near Where You Once Lived was based on a deer skull found on my parents’ farm that now rests on their back deck, witness to their moments of pause and companionship. When choosing the canvas to use for this painting, I used one in which I had carved flowers in the paint of an abandoned earlier painting, now providing subtle texture below the skull, an echo perhaps of the past for both deer and artist.
The Yorick on Our Wall, a 16”x20” oil on canvas painting of a steer.
The Yorick On Our Wall is based on a longhorn skull that hangs on the wall of my parents’ home. I often wonder why it is there… I think they just enjoy its presence. Maybe, too, it is a reassurance that, although we all share the same ultimate fate as living beings, we don’t completely disappear when we go. That because we existed, we impacted the world in some (big or small) way, and our presence continues in that change and the memories and experiences of the living.
