Sorry, Buddy - New Painting by Derek Cadena

 Last week I had another sleepless night. I was lying in bed thinking about driving around taking pictures of people doing what they do. Soon, I was up and dressed and driving by the corner gas station, the Bradley at 50th and Federal.  It was around 5:50 A.M., and I knew that I could always count on a rich display of sketchy peeps on this block. I quickly took a few photos and went home to start painting.  The painting is a familiar scene of a beggar and a rich man. If I have money in my pocket I usually hand it to people who ask for it. The "rich" man (who looks a lot like Ed McMahon) is obviously in a hurry and can't be bothered by the guy with the cart, which I have to say is the best shopping cart I've ever painted.


Sorry, Buddy and a few other new paintings will hang at The Market on Larimer Square for the month of September. If you're in Denver, go check it out, eat a sandwich, have a latte and enjoy some killer desserts while you decide which painting to buy. Make sure to have plenty of coin in your pocket for meters and nice people who need a little help.

Waiting For The 6 - by Cadena

Tuesday, around noon, I grabbed the Nikon and jumped in the car following an impulse to capture an anonymous figure to paint.  Within 10 minutes I was back home drawing an image of a girl I had just photographed. It was a drive-by shot at the corner of 48th and Pecos. The startled girl glanced apprehensively at me as I "clicked" and drove on. She really had a Kung Fu grip on that bag, either she thought I wanted it or the number 6 bus is super shady.


That was SO much damn fun!

Waiting For The 6

2 Nude Back Studies by Cadena

Here are two new little 5x7 studies that I painted last week for a friend. Both figures ready to greet the day, the man sleepily pausing just before getting off the bed, and the women about to step into the shower, once the temperature is agreeable. 

Thank you, Kari!!

Merge Left - New Painting by Derek Cadena

I painted these cars yesterday from a photo of Matchbox, Hot Wheels and other old toy cars that fill a shelf at a nearby antique shop. I'm pretty sure that little Derek had that black Trans-Am with orange and yellow stripes and maybe the pimp-y green Lincoln, too. 

"Merge Left" is a 8x10 oil on panel available in our Etsy shop.

Jiu Jitsu Love Story - Derek Cadena

My working title for this painting has been Matt's Practice, although a more appropriate title like "Jiu Jitsu Love Story" or "Couples Therapy" may be in order, since I ended up painting two sparring figures, Matt and his wife Rachel.  I painted this for Nordstrom's consideration, they passed on this one and choose the boxer, "Ramon".  I love this painting and I am glad to still have it, although I should be polite and give Matt and Rachel a chance to buy it before I decide to keep it or sell it to someone else.

I painted this image from a still video on YouTube.  In the video the couple is demonstrating Brazilian Jiu Jitsu defense techniques to a crowded room.  I heavily edited the scene, getting rid of people and other distracting elements that took away from the focus on the couple's practice. The light filters into this space beautifully, enveloping the figure by the window. The painting, in person, looks and feels as if I was actually in the room painting this scene.

The Howards for Nordstrom

I'm packing and getting ready to ship the paintings off to Nordstrom's Seattle office.  I thought I would show off the three 16x20 Howard paintings.  The original 8x10 Howard was the first painting they bought from me two years ago, they really love him...

I also painted a boxer "Ramon", which they are still considering on purchasing. I hope they do!

Beefing Up Nordstrom's Walls!

I've been so busy that I haven't posted in a month! I've finished most of the work I'm doing for Nordstrom. Their store planning and architecture department purchased a painting from me two years ago, which I was very excited about at the time! Then, just a couple months ago they got back with me and commissioned 7 paintings for a few of their remodeled stores.  My paintings will hang with a collection of other work, mostly vintage male portraits and landscapes completing a wall collage in each men's sportswear department. Shown here is an example of a wall they had previously done sans Cadena...

The designer wanted a more youthful and cheery wall layout and liked my cheesy beach boys pumping iron by the sea and said that these paintings would be perfect for some of their beach town stores, one of the stores being Westside Pavilion in LA.  So, I painted two of Beach Flex and two of Beach Pump, all 18x24 oil paintings. The two Beach Flex are the first image.

 I gotta get back to work, I'll show the rest in my next post.

Goy Paints Jewish Calendar

This is the second part of my two-part post on working with Scott Lyon on the permanent exhibit recently installed at the Mizel Museum in Denver.


This past Spring I was invited by Scott to help paint, fabricate and install pieces of the exhibit titled 4,000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks. I was given the task and huge privilege of illustrating the large Jewish Calendar that hangs in the Synagogue. I had some concerns when I started, one being that I am not Jewish! I didn't know bubbe from bupkes... Although, now I know not to get the two confused.

The Jewish calendar is only similar to the Gregorian calendar in that it has twelve months. The months are lunar, which I painted a band of moon phases corresponding with observed religious holidays and their months.  Each month starts with a new moon, the first month is Nisan. Passover is celebrated in Nisan. Pictured here is a detail of the months with moons and seasons of the calendar.

 My favorite symbol that I painted here of the holidays is the Sukkah in the upper right corner of the banner, which is the wooden structure with twigs and fruit hanging from it. Sukkot is the harvest holiday celebrated in the middle of the month Tishre or Tisheri (roughly October).  Many Hebrew words have different spellings, which I was often told to change... I'm just the goy with a brush. Like the rest of the exhibit, I painted this banner in a colorful whimsical style. Here is a detail of the top half of the banner with the Sukkah.

You'll have to go the Mizel Museum if want to see the full calendar and all the other wonderful exhibit pieces. I had a blast working with Scott and the Mizel folks for those last six months, but the project is done and it's time to move on.  Now, I have seven paintings (possibly more) commissioned by Nordstrom to complete in the next six weeks. The paintings are for several store remodels. I'll be painting vintage looking mid-century styled athletic male portraits in oil for Nordstrom's menswear/sportswear department. I'm VERY excited, it's my biggest client ever! I'll keep you posted.

Derek

Sparking It Up At The Mizel Museum

This is the first post of the two-part blog about working on the permanent exhibit recently installed at the Mizel Museum in Denver.

This past Spring I was invited by Scott Lyon to help paint, fabricate and install pieces of the exhibit. There are too many projects to talk about, so I'll talk about one design of Scott's that I worked on in this post, and then I'll write about painting the Jewish Calendar that I designed and worked on in my next post.

Almost two years ago my friend and fellow Denver artist, Scott Lyon, was approached by the Mizel Museum to give the museum walls and the display cases that house the artifacts a makeover.  Scott began working with the museum's curator, Georgina Kolber, on the exhibit's theme, which is a 4,000 year journey of Jewish life, culture, art and stories.  The curator talks more about this in her interview with Ryan Warner on Colorado Public Radio.  4,000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks is the educational, historic and whimsical exhibit that has been brought to life by Scott and his team that I was honored to be apart of. 

 I worked on several exciting projects, however, one of the more memorable projects I worked on was the notorious "spark" emitting disco ball, which was the most terrifying piece to fabricate and install!  Scott began this project by designing and building a rocket fin shaped wooden support covered with foam and electrical bits that would be covered by a mosaic of mirror glass. The shape of this sculpture was designed in mind with the building's mid-century modern architecture and fun funky presentation of the exhibit's theme. I remember being a little intimidated by this skeletal structure, but I couldn't wait to begin covering it. This structure was heavy and awkward, it would rock back and forth, and needed to have a separate structure built to keep it upright.  Mostly there was a lot of gluing shards of glass, which one of the shards left a V-shaped scar on my wrist after I carelessly plunged my arm into one of those pointy corners... ouch!   It took several days for Scott and I to finish, working in shifts artfully cutting glass and arranging pieces to perfectly cover the structure.  After the last piece of glass was placed and the finished sculpture was cleaned we stood back in awe of it's shimmering beauty!  Now all we had to do was figure out how to hang it, which we did quite gracefully with the help of pulleys and a very tall ladder.  When you walk up to the front of the museum you can't help notice the large atomic disco ball hanging in the lime green entrance.  Guests who visit the Mizel Museum before dusk are really in for a sparkly treat!

Pictured here is Scott, the disco ball and a few bits of other exhibit pieces I put in to collage.  

Tuff the Dog - Pet Portrait by Cadena

For the last 8 or 9 years, usually starting in October, I get calls for people wanting pet portraits by Christmas.  I painted one for a friend long ago, and her friends called me, and their friends called me, and on and on.  Some years I paint several, however, this season I only painted one. This is Tuff the Dog, an adventurous black lab who resides in Summit County because he loves the mountain life. 


If you love your pet, and need a cool portrait to show just how much you love your pet, then contact me.  I'll be happy to paint for you! 

5x7 Nude With Red Background - by Derek Cadena

I painted this small figure study last week.  At the time, while I was painting, I wasn't pleased. I was even a bit angry that I had painted it... or, I was just in a bad mood.  I threw a tiny little tantrum and walked away without signing it.  The next morning, after a good night's rest, I looked at it with fresh eyes and it made me happy, very happy. I really liked the minimal brushstrokes in the face, LOVED the glowing red background, and the very angular curves were just right... so, I signed it.  The paint was still fresh.

This painting is listed in our ebay store.

Upright Red - New Small Oil

I painted Upright Red on 11 11 2010.  I really like this little 5x7 painting, especially the reddish orange strokes.  She kinda looks like a mermaid with implants... Maybe I should change the title to "Sofa Siren".  What do you think?
 
See the ad for this painting on ebay.

Amorous Grasshoppers and Other New Art

We've been working overtime this week to get at least 15 new small artworks finished for the next art show this First Friday evening, 10/01/10 at CoArt Gallery located at 846 Santa Fe Dr. Denver CO. 

Flowers, bugs, and animals illustrated or altered photography, are hand-colored with acrylic paint and then transferred on to 6" colorful wooden backgrounds.  LOVE this new series and can't wait to show it off!  These pieces will be $55.00 each, and, we'll knock off a few bucks if you buy three or more!  

Select 8" mounted print versions are now available online in our Etsy store.

 Here's a few new images:

2LF at CoArt Gallery in Denver - by Derek Cadena

If you're just visiting or you live in Denver, you have to stroll up and down Santa Fe Drive's art district.  First Fridays (every first Friday of the month), are Denver's busiest nights for art gallery patrons and collectors to see what's fresh and new. 

We have joined CoArt Gallery at 846 Santa Fe Drive, between 8th and 9th street.  We will have new works hanging every month, and there are 20 more artist members, so, there's plenty of art to look at, and buy... Come on down, enjoy some refreshments and help support the arts, and the artists!

The March Harvest Oddity - By Derek Cadena

Last weekend, after the snow had cleared and the ground thawed, Brent and I pulled some forgotten root veggies that had been sown last Spring.  The parsnips and carrots were boiled together and pureed, it was delicious.

One huge beautiful freakish parsnip was saved from the boiling pot, it was a perfect subject for me to paint! I even dressed up the still life set with draped red fabric, creating a proper stage for exploiting my subject. 

The March Harvest Oddity

Mighty Tonka Giclee Prints - by Derek Cadena

The original "Still Mighty" recently sold, however, I have two sizes of Still Mighty stretched canvas giclee prints now available in our online stores.  The sizes are: 8x10 and 16x20.  Each size of this print series has a edition size of 25.  The retail prices are: $75 and $149.  Contact me for purchase info, or click here to visit the 8x10 ad.

Joe and the Sisyphean Orange Project - By Derek Cadena

Joe is sick and tired of hauling that damn orange up the mountain!  He's only got one good arm...

I really enjoyed working on this little painting.  For the still life, I used a rock from the front yard for Joe to climb, and then I had to prop-up a rather juicy orange with a chopstick (not painted).  It only collapsed once.

This painting is on a 6 x 12" panel and comes with a black frame.  See the ebay ad here!

A Couple of Joes - by Derek Cadena

My most recent still life painting has two G.I. Joes posing with a P.B.R. beer can. Just a couple of Joes having a beer... in the nude.  I don't see any military policy violations happening...

Click here to visit the Joes ebay ad.

Go Joe!!!

A Quick Study of 1964 G.I. Joe by Derek Cadena

I bought a couple of busted up old Joes on ebay this week.  They have no clothes or guns, and one Joe is missing most of his left arm.  They do have some pretty sweet beards and almost all of their hair, however, they smell like decades of musty basement storage.  I had to have them in the studio, they're great art manikins!  Here is a 45 minute study on a 5x7 panel of the first Joe.  Click here to see ebay ad for Joe!

Easy Rider - Still Life of Potato, Onion, and Limes by Derek Cadena

This produce was born to be wild!  I like to play with my food... I used bamboo skewers to attach two bad limes to a potato, then, I carefully balanced the unruly onion on top of the potato chopper.   I was proud of the food sculpture.  I love that the potato has a star shaped sprout on its side, it helped me form the "Captain America" color palette of the background. 

Easy Rider is for sale in our ebay store.