Art in Colorado by Stacy Baker

Have you ever seen a painting

that looked like a window into another planet?

Once upon a fleeting time…

a special place was built, right here in Colorado.

Paintings from all over the world

came to live at the Denver Art Museum.

Now, we can visit a place in our city and see the world

through the eyes of artists like you.

Travel to Wind River Country in 1860

with Albert Bierstadt.

Snowy mountains stretch across the background.

Sunrise colors glow over a wilderness valley.

Blue sky with puffy clouds above.

A rich forest lines a winding river below.

Sail to Japan with artist Ando Hiroshige

into the Wave and Whirlpool at Awa Naruta Rapids.

The swirling water, deep blue and white,

churns and circles endlessly in the foreground.

Just behind, boulders jut upward from the sea.

Heavy waves pour over the stubborn gray rocks.

Sit next to Vincent Van Gogh

on the Edge of a Wheat Field with Poppies.

Thick brush strokes define the wheat and grass.

Dancing in the breeze, yellow, orange, and green.

Little red poppies peek out from the wheat.

Thin trees reach for the wispy white clouds in the sky.

Let William Marlow give you a fright

When you take a look at Vesuvius Erupting at Night.A volcano towers over an old city.

Dark, engulfing clouds of smoke billow and arc.

Piercing the sky, a sharp red column erupts at the peak.

Fire pours down the mountain. The sea is a mirror.

Ponder the vision of Mississippi Choctaw artist

Jeffrey Gibson in Natura Non Facit Saltum.

Strands of pale, electric blue

drape across the canvas like harp strings.

Bright yellow, orange, green and red

form shapes and shadows above.

Dash onto a shore full of Fishing Boats

(Bateaux de pêche) with Claude Monet.

Short brush strokes make the blue-green ocean

flutter under the gray sky.

Orange-brown boats line the beach.

Choppy lines make up the roofs of nearby hay huts.

Explore Soliloquy: Life’s Fragile Fictions

by African American painter Moyo Ogundipe.

A woman covered in bold green patterns

holds a fire colored bird.

A man on a small horse looks at her.

Behind them are purple, green, and pink shapes.

Sit down for a strange-shaped dinner

with Pablo Picasso’s Still Life (1937).

Bold colors and abstract shapes unite

to form a pitcher and a bowl, unlike any you’ve ever seen.They sit on a white table that curves upward

in front of an open door.

Journey to the Banks of the Seine, Bougiva.

View the serenity depicted by Renoir.

The glassy river flows up the page,

soft yellow-green grass on either side.

Leafy trees cast soft shadows on the banks.

Colorful chateaus observe the scene from afar.

So venture out to a bubbly stream

and draw whatever you see.

Or close your eyes, let your mind wander,

and sketch something no one has ever seen before.

Need more inspiration?

Bring some paints and a canvas,

set off on a trip to the city

and visit your friends at the Denver Art Museum.