DON SAHLI: An American Painter
“Everybody looks for a label. I would like to be known as a painter – one who painted what he saw while wandering around on his journey.”
Don Sahli strives to continually expand his horizons, push the limits; presenting and creating his work in ways that are unexpected, fresh and stimulating. Instead of being limited by the technical bounds of painting and the expected response to subject matter, he takes these boundaries and uses them as the jumping off point: the start of something, not the end.
Don Sahli made the decision to become a professional artist at a very early age. By the time he was 17 years old, art galleries in Texas and New Mexico were selling his paintings. Sahli has earned his living as a professional artist all his adult life. Presently, galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Breckenridge, Colorado; Wilmington, North Carolina; Sedona, Arizona; and Midland, Texas represent his work. He is quite prolific, producing numerous studio pieces — including public works and corporate commissions — and innumerable sketches and plein air works each year.
Sahli began his formal art education at the University of Texas in Austin. A year later, he met Sergei Bongart, the famous Russian colorist. At Bongart’s invitation, Sahli followed him to California and became his last apprentice. He remained with the Russian for three years, until Bongart’s death in 1985.
“When I look at a painting, I want it to bring me back to when I was on the scene. I want it to convey the drama and emotion that first captured my attention – the atmosphere and the soul of the place.”
Sahli’s work contains stylistic echoes of the Russian masters, particularly evident in his uninhibited use of color, his stern originality and unique vitality. Sahli helps to sustain an important artistic tradition, one passed from Ilya Repin, the fountainhead of all modern Russian painting, to his student, Nicolai Fechin; and from Fechin to Peter Kotov; and from Peter Kotov to Sergei Bongart; and from Sergei Bongart to Don Sahli.
“My teacher taught, his teacher taught, and I wanted to keep this tradition alive and give something back. It’s also a critical aspect of the artistic process … it helps one articulate what one is thinking and doing I have learned from the process, and I am a much better painter since I began teaching.”
In 1995, carrying on the legacy of his teacher, Sahli founded the Sahli School of Art in Evergreen, Colorado. He currently conducts summer studio and garden workshops at his home in Evergreen, Colorado.
Sahli lives with his wife, Cindy, and their two sons; Jeff and Sam, in their mountain home in Evergreen.
ROSE GLASER FREDRICK
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Two decades of working in the visual arts writing, promoting, curating, and coordinating events for artists and art organizations.
2006 – May, 2008 Masterpieces of Colorado, a Rich Legacy of Landscape Painting
Curator
Sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Colorado Council on the Arts, and the El Pomar Foundation, I curated, produced and wrote the catalogue, and fundraised for this traveling exhibition; a historical look at many of the first landscape painters of the state as compared to the work of contemporary Colorado landscape painters. The exhibition traveled to six destinations across the state, ending at the Denver Public Library in May 2008. Each hosting museum reported dramatically increased attendance during the run of the show, and for some their attendance doubled for the entire year.
1997 – Present Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver, Colorado
Curator
wCurate the annual benefit art exhibition of 52 artists held during the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo. The show offers a unique view of the West as depicted in painting, sculpture and photography. Responsible for direction of the event, selection of artists, hanging, display and lighting, as well as coordinating all artist relations, as well as marketing, production of printed materials and writing. In my first year, the show increased sales by 50 percent, in my second year attendance more than doubled, previous sales doubled again in my third year, and had record opening crowd and sales my fourth. By this, my eleventh year, the show has surpassed a million dollars in art and ticket sales, with Opening Night surpassing the entire sales of the previous year and had more than 40,000 patrons visit the exhibit.
2001 – 2003 Public Education and Business Coalition, Denver, Colorado
Curator
Curate the annual benefit art exhibition Artists for Colorado’s Youth Sale and Auction of 58 artists held at the Colorado History Museum. The show offered a unique blend of artists from emerging to nationally known painters and sculptors. Responsible for renovating the exhibition, selection of artists, hanging, display and lighting, as well as coordination of all artist relations, development of all written materials for the artists, and oversight on design and printing of auction catalog. Each show has exceeded sales revenue of previous years as well as sales goals.
2000 – 2004 Colorado Mountain Club Landscape Show, Golden, Colorado
Curator
Inception, development, concept and curation of the benefit exhibit of 25 landscape artists held at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden. Responsible for advising, assisting with budgeting, developing contracts, soliciting the highest caliber of artists, producing invitations and other printed materials, writing promotional articles for the Trail & Timberline magazine.
2002 Colorado Lawyers for the Arts Art Auction, Denver, Colorado
Curator
Revitalize biannual event, develop concept to increase sales, contributions, and organization’s community profile. One night exhibit fundraiser held in November 2002 at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Responsibilities included exhibit concept, donation of 100 canvases and gilded frames, as well as solicitation of 100 artists to paint the canvases, thereby donating their work.
1998 – 1999 Third Canyon Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Art consultant
Actively maintained an extensive client base for sales and consulting. I was responsible for introducing new artists to the gallery who better reflected the changing art trends in Colorado.
1997 – 1998 Toma and Associates, Denver, Colorado
Special consultant on the Berger Collection book 100 Years of British Painting
Oversaw coordination of designers, conservators, editors and writers; and worked with the Denver Art Museum photography and public relations departments, coordinated photography of the collection, color corrections and design, maintained direct relations between the Bergers and the designers of the book
1996 – 1998 David Uhl Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Founding Gallery Partner
Opened and developed the gallery with a strong stable of nationally and regionally known artists. Responsible for day to day operation of the gallery, exhibition schedule, public relations, printing, advertising, budgeting and marketing of the artists
1994 – 1996 The Art Scene, Denver, Colorado
Art Education, Consulting
Adult education class that visited studios and galleries to learn about art and collecting, styles and media, facilitated discussions on all levels of art to help break down barriers that intimidate collectors.
1991 – 1995 Carol Siple Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Art Consultant, Assistant Director
wSales, fund raising events, promotions, mailing list maintenance, wrote artists statements, biographical material and press releases.
1990 – 1996 The Art Seen cable television show, Littleton, Colorado
Host
Hosted half hour art related talk show that aired on Public Access Cable. Wrote scripts and scheduled artists.
1989 – 1992 Douglas County Arts Council, Douglas County, Colorado
Director
Grant writing and corporate fund raising, promotion and marketing, inception and development of major two week arts festival at the Highlands Ranch Mansion featuring over 80 fine artists, the Denver Brass Band, the Denver Chamber Orchestra, story tellers, and gala openings
EDUCATION
California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, California, 1989
Bachelor of Science, Business Marketing
Secretary, American Marketing Association
INTERESTES
I have juried numerous exhibitions, and given talks and moderated panel discussions on everything from the nude in art to historic Colorado landscape painters.
I am conversational in German, and have traveled to many countries in Europe and throughout the United States on numerous road trips. I am married and have twin boys who were born in 2004.
Judy Archibald
Judy Archibald, has been Director/Curator of the Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show & Sale for the last 7 years. In addition, she has been a contributing editor of Wildlife Art Magazine for 20 years and a feature writer for Southwest Art, Equine Images, Art-Talk and the new on-line magazine, Western & Wildlife Art. In addition to having over a thousand articles about art published, she is a former gallery owner, who has juried many shows.
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