I launched my annual Spring Studio Sale and have selected over 30 original abstracts that are 50-75% savings from my regular prices. I love having my sale so I can clear out a bit of space in my studio AND send people home with some new art for their collections.
Visit my sale page on my website here: https://www.davidcastleart.com/spring-studio-sale.
Here are a few sneak peeks!
This weekend is the final weekend for the 19th Annual Portland Open Studios Tour and I’ll have my studio open. If you’re in Portland, come check me out Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 5pm each day, at my studio at SW 71st Ave/Ashdale in Portland. Visit my website for details and my address – http://www.davidcastleart.com.
And just for visitors, I’ll have all artwork in my studio priced at 10-75% off regular prices, plus see more about how I paint my abstracts and hear about my upcoming Residency trip to the Arctic Circle!
I’ve had several of my new Metallic Squares series paintings accepted into well-respected, national juried exhibitions recently. I’m super-excited that my latest watercolor and oil paintings are receiving some attention and it gets my heart rate going in my studio to keep on exploring my Metallic Squares and painting more!
This weekend marks my seventh year exhibiting at the Downtown Denver Arts Festival! Come by to visit and to see my latest series, “Solo, Duo, Trio”… I’ll be in my usual location at the intersection of Glenarm and the pedestrian walkway. Here’s the schedule:
Friday: 4pm – 8pm
Saturday: 11am – 8pm
Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Monday: 11am – 4pm
Hope to see you there!
My painting sojourn to the Oregon Coast is over and I’m back in my studio! For the past week I’ve been working hard to get 62 of my Oregon Coast flapjacks ready for a special studio exhibit this First Friday, March 4th. This special exhibit will only be intact at the beginning of First Friday, so come by early. If you are a sojourn Shareholder and would like to pick up your share(s), please come by anytime Friday, March 4th, 4 – 8 pm.
I received some rather “sparkling” feedback from a client recently. I love it when folks take time to send me their thoughts after having purchased my art. And, I especially love it when they have this to say:
My wife Stephanie and I just recently purchased ‘4 seasons of trees’ from you at the Denver Pavilions Art’s Festival.
Your work touches our soul and brings us much enjoyment. I especially like how the changing light hits the metallic paint and brings the trees alive. Just outside the window real Aspens quake in the wind. Your art work is having a dialog daily with them.
We thought you should know that your passion and talent is appreciated and will be a lasting part of our family.
All the best to you — Art and Stephanie
I’ve been getting ready for the Downtown Denver Arts Festival all week – here’s a snapshot of my studio today. I just finished mounting my new Tall Idyllic Trees painting on canvas.
The Festival is at the Denver Pavilions (I’m in booth 16). Here’s the schedule:
Friday, May 28 | 4-8pm
Saturday, May 29 | 11am-8pm
Sunday, May 30 | 11am – 5pm
Monday, May 31 | 11am – 4pm
The Annual Colorado Watercolor Society Exhibit is currently running at the Colorado History Museum in downtown Denver (13th and Broadway). I have one painting that was selected by juror Ratindra Das. The exhibit runs daily through March 14, 2010 – check it out if you’re downtown!
If you’re heading down to the Denver Center for Performing Arts, be sure to stop in the Buell Theatre for a special exhibit of the best artwork from Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe. My painting, “Elementals No. 19” was selected for this exhibit which runs through the first week in April.
I’ll have these framed flapjacks and more at my upcoming Open Studios:
I had a great time painting my “flapjack” mini paintings last First Friday to kick off Denver Arts Week and introduce folks to my art. I ran out on Friday, but I painted a few extra… there’s still time to add your name to the comments of my post here for the chance to get your own free flapjack!
Today I received my acceptance letter from the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society that Juror Tom Owens has selected my “Autumn No. 3” painting for the International Watermedia XVI Exhibit! I’m thrilled! But, also in my mailbox was a rejection for the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition (I’m sad).
I have rather mixed feelings about “Autumn No. 3″… I’m actually a bit intimidated by it. The precision of my elemental shapes and the razor-thin lines I achieved is truly amazing (if I say so myself). I have it hanging high on one of my studio walls partly so that I don’t inspect too closely… because when I do, I instantly have a feeling that I couldn’t paint with that precision again.
Perhaps getting it down for this exhibit will inspire some precision elementals painting – we’ll see!
Thank you to everyone that came by to visit me and my artwork this past weekend at the Downtown Denver Arts Festival. Despite the sometimes-soggy conditions, the hightlight of all of the hard work and energy it takes me to do this festival is getting to meet and visit with folks and talk about my art, inspirations and process. So, again, thank you, especially to those that went home with new artwork and to my new Collectors who took a new one-of-a-kind, original painting home!
If you are interested in a followup visit to my studio to look at more of my artwork, to purchase a particular piece that you saw or would like to discuss a commission project, please send me an email, give me a call or use my “Buy Some Art” inquiry feature on my website and we’ll get an appointment set up at your convenience.
The Colorado Watercolor Society’s State Exhibition opens this Friday at the Colorado History Museum in Denver (opening reception is Friday, 4/24 from 5-8pm and the exhibit runs through May 3rd). My “Tall Spring Trees” painting was accepted into this exhibition by juror Mark Mehaffey. And, acceptance into this exhibit now makes me a Signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society!
I saw most of the paintings in the exhibit this morning when I dropped my painting off – if you’re in Colorado and like watercolor art, you don’t want to miss this one!
I’m excited to announce that the Denver Public Library has acquired my painting “Denver Art Museum, Sky, Library” for their permanent Western History collection!
You may remember that I created this painting in 2007 for the first High Plein Air Arts painting event in Denver’s Golden Triangle Museum District. At the time, my painting was juried into the exhibit at the Central Library where DPL staff first expressed interest in acquiring it.
So, they’ve now added it to their permament collection and, after cataloging, will use it for special exhibits at the Central Library at 13th/Broadway in Denver. I had a great time working with Jim Kroll, Manager of DPL’s Western History/Genealogy Department, and here’s what he had to say:
“David’s watercolor joins several other images of the Central Library included in the Western History collection. As a regional artist, the Library is pleased to add his creation to a collection that consists of over fourteen hundred original paintings and three-dimensional depictions of the West. Several framed pieces and sculpture can be seen on the fifth level of the Central Library.” — Jim Kroll, Manager of Western History/Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library
2009 is off with a steady stream of rejections for me, so I’ve been thinking about the lack of transparency for artists into the results of juried exhibits. Many organizations that hold juried exhibits only provide artists with a “yes” or “no”. Period.
Why are artists OK with this? Should we demand more transparency? How about stats on how many artists/images were entered and selected? How about details on what stage of jurying my art made it to… or the actual scores? How about ALWAYS publishing who the jurors even are? Is it valid to expect more information or am I just a whiner because I’m getting rejected?
Am I really OK with just sending images of my art off into a jury black hole? If I think about it more, how do I even really know my art was looked at?
Is this an ethical question? Do artists deserve to receive feedback when we’ve paid to have our art reviewed for a specific exhibit?
In this age of “transparency”, is this just a transparency question? Should artists (and the public) be able to learn more about what those jurers did and how artists faired throughout the process? So many questions…
I’d really like to hear thoughts from other artists on this.
Here are three recent examples of mine – and if anyone has more details on these particular events, then please comment and share with us all!
Cherry Creek Arts Festival ($35 app fee): I’ve applied 4 times in the past 5 years and always get a “not selected”. No other information is provided. How about providing me with my scores?
Colorado Art Ranch – Trinidad Spring Residency ($30 app fee): I’ve applied for 3 Colorado Art Ranch Residencies in the past few years and this year was informed that “once again” I was not selected. No additional information is provided. How about stats on how many artists applied and some type of feedback on scores?
Colorado Art Open, Foothills Art Center – Golden, CO ($30 app fee): I applied this year and received a “reject”. Juror names were published and a few stats provided in an email – how about scoring results? Also, how about details on how this exhibit is juried (images on a PC or projected)?
Tonight is First Friday in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe and I’ll be in my studio painting between 5-8pm. Hope you’ll come by to visit and then check out the more than 50 galleries and studios within a few block radius of my studio!
I’ve created another special painting for this year’s Bough House charity event that benefits the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. I’m thrilled to be supporting a great organization that does such wonderful work! This event raises funds for the abused and neglected children served by the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center and provides a unique opportunity for Colorado art enthusiasts to celebrate the holiday season while helping abused and neglected children.
Come bid on my painting (my vision of a modern holiday tree) at the event finale on Wednesday, December 10 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the Denver Design District Atrium, 595 South Broadway in Denver.
Visit the Bough House website and blog for details on the event. Suggested $20 donation at the door – no need to RSVP, everyone is welcome!
Plan to visit Karole Sharpe’s Open Studio in Denver this Saturday, November 15 between 12noon – 6pm. I’ve been a fan of Karole’s glass art for years and have several pieces of her art in my collection.
Karole creates quite a variety of art from glass – ornaments, panels, sculptures, blown glass items, lamps… each piece is a one-of-a-kind! Her art is fabulous and covers all price ranges, so I’m sure she’ll have a great selection of art perfect for gifts. This year, she is one of my picks of an artist to support rather than mass-produced stuff from a big box store!
What: Karole Sharpe Open Studio
When: November 15, 2008 | 12noon – 6pm
Where: 2808 Quitman Street, Denver CO 80212
Phone: 303-477-4097
This Saturday, October 25 (7:30pm) is the annual Mustache 4 Cash charity event at the Sherman Event Center in Denver. This great event directly benefits The Byrne Urban Scholars, Colorado Youth at Risk, and Escuela de Guadalupe. Donations will be directed towards scholarships, mentoring, tutoring and college prep programs.
This is the first year the organizers have included a silent auction at the benefit and I’ve donated one of my latest elemental originals for the event. Visit their website for event details.
David Castle Art 