Artists to Watch

Bonnie Gangelhoff

Our picks for today's rising stars

	SHELTER FROM THE STORM BY JOSHUA BEEN

Joshua Been
As a child Joshua Been liked nothing better than to fetch a bowl of cereal and watch cartoons. So when he graduated from high school, it came as no surprise to friends and family that he wanted to become an animator in the film industry. He left Colorado and headed for California, where he eventually landed his dream job as a character animator for the Cartoon Network. Only the dream job didn’t quite live up to his expectations. “It wasn’t as liberating as I thought it would be,” Been says. “I was always making someone else’s dream come true—working on someone else’s design and characters.”

To feed his creative urges, he began taking painting classes at the California Art Institute in Thousand Oaks. He studied with teachers such as Ryan Wurmser, Tony Pro, and Michelle Dunaway. “I met all these talented young artists, and that’s when I fell in love with painting.” 

Today, Been makes his home in the sleepy town of Salida in Colorado, far from bustling Los Angeles and the film industry. He spends his days in what he dubs a painter’s paradise. “Salida is nestled into the Collegiate Peaks and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. And the Arkansas River runs through town,” he explains.

He’s leading a simpler life, he says, and it suits him just fine. Been says he relishes painting the natural wonders nearby, and at times he incorporates figures into his landscapes. “I think people forget how amazing this world is, but when you get up in the morning and go out with an easel, it can be breathtaking watching a cascade of water or high alpine mountain lake.” Been says he strives to capture the meditative atmosphere that is evoked, for example, by a deserted beach or reflections in a pool of water. He is just as likely to find inspiration in the grittier aspects of Rocky Mountain terrain such as tree roots and rock formations. But whatever the subject matter of choice, his priority is to emphasize the beauty in everyday life. Recently Been won top awards at the High Plein Air Arts Festival held in Denver as well as at the Sedona Plein Air Festival in Arizona. 

When he isn’t painting and participating in plein-air events, Been is teaching painting and drawing classes at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex. “At first my students come to class talking about making better tattoos or graffiti, but within a few months they are talking about John Singer Sargent and creating landscapes and figurative pieces,” Been says.

He is represented by Abend Gallery, Denver, CO; Earthwood Collections, Estes Park, CO; Sage Creek Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Main Street Gallery & Framer, Glenwood Springs, CO; Virtuosity Gallery, Salida, CO; and www.joshuabeen.com.

	COUNTRY PEACE BY D. LARUE MAHLKE

D. LaRue Mahlke
D. LaRue Mahlke lives in Georgetown, TX, a picturesque small town about 20 miles north of Austin. Her favorite subject matter isn’t far from her front door. “I love my area of Texas with the surrounding farmland and the Hill Country—these landscapes and the skies are where my heart is,” Mahlke explains. Hence, on any given day the artist can be found along the state’s back roads and byways exploring new terrain. Closely observing nuances of light, color, value, and texture have had the most impact on her work over the years, she says.

Like many artists, the Lone Star State painter experiences a spiritual connection to the land she portrays. “I am always trying to capture the feeling of a place and the mood. I try to get across the emotion of what I was experiencing at the time,” she says. 

Mahlke won first place for a small pastel at the Scottsdale Artists’ School’s Best and Brightest show. Her works are on view in August at the Maynard Dixon Country Invitational in Mt. Carmel, UT. Mahlke is represented by Whistle Pik Galleries, Fredericksburg, TX, and www.dlaruemahlke.com.