Denver Moore
Denver was
born in rural Louisiana in January 1937, and after several
tragic events went to live on a plantation in Red River Parish
with his Uncle James and Aunt Ethel, who were share croppers.
Sometime around 1960, he hopped a freight train and began a life as a homeless drifter until 1966 when a judge awarded him a 10 year contract for hard labor at the Louisiana State School of Fools, aka, Angola Prison!
According to Denver, he went in a man and left a man and received a standing ovation from prisoners in the yard as he walked out of there in 1976. For the next 22 years he was homeless on the streets of Fort Worth, Texas. However, there were a few times after a brush with the law, he'd ride the rails visiting cities and hobo jungles across America, sampling regional cuisine like Vienna sausage with fellow passengers.
In 1998, "He never met Miss Debbie," Miss Debbie met him and his life was changed forever.
Today, he is the co-author of the book, “Same Kind of Different As Me” and “What Difference Do It Make?”, as well as an artist, public speaker, and volunteer for homeless causes. In 2006, as evidence of the complete turn around of his life, the citizens of Fort Worth honored him as "Philanthropist of the Year" for his work with homeless people at the Union Gospel Mission.
“Denver's art is raw, yet innocent, and directly from his soul...He began painting at sixty-five before he learned to read and write two years later...He does not consider himself an artist but I do. I get excited every time I walk into his little studio in our garage and see the latest creation of his hands, and my heart sinks when I go there and see he has done nothing!!!! People from all across America have bought his art to have a connection to him and his story....Enjoy.”
- Ron Hall
A few words from Cerulean Gallery’s Director
about Denver Moore’s artwork:
Denver Moore’s artwork is very special and unique. I can never
predict when Denver will present me with a new body of work, and
I can never tell Denver what to create – he creates from his
heart and of his own will. But when Denver arrives with an arm
full of his new treasures, I can guarantee that each one is
exceptional to him.
Denver’s subjects include, but are not limited to,
self-portraits, hearts, crosses, angels, scenes from his books,
words and animals. Angels are a particularly fond subject for
Denver, and you will find in his works that he sees and
interprets his visions of angels in a very specific outline.
Some of Denver’s paintings are simply words scratch into the
paint with little or no imagery. The words can be Biblical
scriptures or personal sayings of importance to Denver. Denver
just recently learned to read and write so his words will not
always be perfect or correct – and as Denver says, “that’s just
like us as humans.” Sometimes his messages are broken up or
unfinished, but he tells me what they mean. We will be happy to
give you an interpretation of the piece and explain what it says
because often times his writing is difficult to read.
You may notice Denver’s unpredictable choice of colors. Denver
uses colors to express his emotion. In fact, pink is one of
Denver’s favorite colors so if you get a pink painting you can
fondly look at it and know Denver was in a good mood when he
painted that one!
Each one of Denver’s original works are framed, and the frame is
hand selected by Denver himself. Most of his frames are damaged
(scratched and chipped). This is a result of how he handles his
artwork when transporting them. If it were any other artist, I
would ask them to fix the frame, but because it is Denver, I
think it adds more character to the pieces. After all, Denver
feels that they do not need to be perfect since he, himself, is
not.
I hope you enjoy Denver’s work as much as we do and by placing
his work on your wall, it will remind you of Denver’s mission,
love, and hope for all of us.
~ Caroline Crockett Kneese
Method of
Payment
We
accept cash and money orders for Denver Moore's Greeting Cards.
We accept cash, money orders, and all major credit cards
(Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover) for Denver's Original Paintings and
Fine Art Giclee Prints.
We do NOT have an order form on-line.
To obtain pricing information and shipping quotes for Denver's Originals
Paintings and/or to place an order.
please contact Caroline Kneese,
caroline@theceruleangallery.com
Greeting Cards
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Denver's printed note cards are $25 for a package of 10 cards
and 10 envelopes (including shipping).
There are 5 different images (2 cards of each image). We accept cash and
checks for them.
We will mail your package as soon as we receive your payment.
If you pay by check, then please make your check payable to
Cerulean Gallery and mail it to the following address:
Caroline Kneese
3223 Crockett Street
Amarillo, TX 79109
Fine Art Giclee Prints
Click to Enlarge
|
Are All
Homeless Just Working Our Way Home |
Original Paintings
To request pricing and shipping quotes, please contact Caroline Kneese, caroline@theceruleangallery.com
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“The Eyes of the Lord . . .”
Image Size: 11”w x 14”h
Framed Size: 15 ¼”w x 18 ¼”h
Acrylic on canvas
Denver scratched his message into the paint:
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching over the
good.”
A Change of Life from the Streets to
Christ
Image Size: 18”w x 24”h
Framed Size: 22 ½”w x 28 ½”h
Acrylic on canvas
Denver created an abstract painting of a woman who had a
revelation and is now on her way to church to turn her life
around. She had been making bad decisions in her life, and she
wanted to leave that all behind to live her life as a Christian.
This painting is celebrating that magnificent moment in her life
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Lil’ Buddy
Image Size: 24”w x 18”h
Framed Size: 30”w x 24”h
Acrylic on canvas
This is Denver’s memory of himself as a boy. His nickname was
“Lil’ buddy” . . .that was what everyone on the plantation
called him. He is standing in the cotton field with his mule to
his left side (it’s difficult to see the mule). This painting is
high in texture and has areas of thick paint.
Archangel
Image Size: 20” x 16”, Framed Size: 24 ¾” x 20 ¾”
Acrylic and glitter on canvas
Denver told me that this is the archangel of the night. Denver
leaves the angel simple in an abstract form because he says
angels are never clearly seen. Denver embellished this angel by
using silvery-blue glitter and thick drops of gold paint. Also,
the angel’s eye is a thick circular blob of paint. This piece is
high in texture
SOLD
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Be a Bright Light in Dark Places
Image Size: 24” x 18”, Framed Size: 29 ¼” x 23 ¼”
Acrylic on canvas
Denver painted multiple layers of paint onto the canvas. He then
scratched his words into the top layer of wet paint. Please note
that these images do not pick up on the subtle changes of color
and texture created from Denver’s layering of the paint and his
brush strokes.
SOLD
God Ain’t Through with Us Yet
(I) 24” x 18”, (F) 28 ½” X 22 ½”, acrylic on canvas
Denver painted some of the letters onto the canvas and then
scratched the other letters into the paint, including his
signature.
SOLD
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Tree Full of Life
(I) 18” x 24”, (F) 22” x 28 ½ “, acrylic and glitter on canvas
This is a picture of the “Tree of Life”, which as Denver states,
is “full of lots of good stuff.”
The tree shimmers with glitter.
SOLD
God’s Ambassadors
(I) 16” x 20”, (F) 21” x 25”, acrylic on canvas
This piece reads in Denver’s writing “You never (know) whose
eyes God is watching you through”.
SOLD
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Celestial
(I) 20” x 16”, (F) 25 ½ “ x 21 ½”, acrylic and glitter on canvas
Denver told us that whenever he uses glitter on his angels it
means that they are up in the sky with the clouds and the stars.
SOLD
Soaring Through the Heavens
(I) 20” x 16”, (F) 23 ¼ “ X 19 ¼”, acrylic and glitter on canvas
Denver told us that whenever he uses glitter on his angels it
means that they are up in the sky with the clouds and the stars.
SOLD
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Triumph Over Tragedy
68” x 70”, Mixed Media on Canvas
SOLD
Triumph Over Tragedy (Detail)
SOLD
Named by Denver as his “Master Piece”, Triumph Over
Tragedy measures out at an impressive 68” x 70” having taken
over 8 years to complete. Working on this painting/sculpture
little by little over the years while completing multiple
paintings and becoming comfortable with the idea of being an
artist, Denver pushed his own boundaries and decided to create a
monumental piece that would communicate his message through
image and text.
Triumph Over Tragedy encompasses the emotions and love Denver
has for the Lord. Denver has scribed on the work, in his own
writing, Psalms 23, thus illustrating the promise that God is
always with us, even through darkness. This self-portrait serves
as a parallel for Christ and what Denver calls “the darkest day
on Earth when Jesus left the earth”.
While a self-portrait, Denver uses the cross as a symbol of the
sacrifice that was given to allow us the promise of Psalms, as
well as a visual reminder of the day Christ’s body rose from the
earth to be with the Father – the day of eternal triumph when
Jesus left the Earth. As Denver waits the day his body is able
to rise to meet his Father, he illustrates a pair of his own
wings. In reference to the pair of wings, Denver said “I shall
be lifted up to the (blue) Heaven in the Sky; LIFTED UP! That is
my message from the book and this painting”. There are two
additional sets of blue wings at his face and his feet. His
wings are the reminders of when he will fly away and finally be
at rest.
In his side, Denver has put a sword in his side and at the
bottom of the cross he has painted a heart in gold. The gold as
a symbol of purity is placed as an anchor where the cross was
stood, thus, further symbolizing the purity of Jesus’ sacrifice.
The sword reminds us of His sacrificial blood and that He was
also human. Like all of us, Denver has been created in God’s
image and this painting embodies that idea. Ironically, Denver
also mentions that the sword in his side is a reminder to
himself of all the times he feels like “he was stabbed in the
side” as a homeless man.
Having called himself the unlikeliest and most unschooled of
artists, Denver uses non- traditional materials in his pieces to
function as symbols. Elements of his mixed media design include
the placement of stones on the canvas. He has put a stone under
his nose and stones as the foundation of the cross because to
him the stone represents “strong faith” just as the cross is the
cornerstone of Christian belief. Interestingly, Denver has
placed a stone at the point of the philtrum – vertical dimple
under the nose - named from the Greek word philtron, from
philein, “to love; to kiss”. The myth of the “Angel’s kiss” goes
as follows: God sends an angel to each womb and teaches a baby
all the wisdom that can be obtained. Just before the unborn baby
comes out, the angel touches it between the upper lip and the
nose and all that it has taught the baby is forgotten.
Amazingly, Denver does not have a dimple under his nose in real
life. He puts one of the stones that represents strong faith at
the place where that dimple should be.
Along with the use of stones, Denver includes the elements of
money in his painting by using coins on his canvas and, in
particular, one dime and two pennies. Money has been a focus of
Denver’s story both as a homeless man and a man as he says is
“not doing too bad anymore”. While the receiving of money may be
seen on this Earth as part of Denver’s triumph, he uses it for
something other than monetary value. Instead he uses it in his
painting as a symbol of the precious metals created by God not
the preciousness we place on the metal (value of money). The
specific coins he chose equal the number 12 to play homage to
the twelve disciples. He further adds, that it reminds him of
the story of Peter. While still in Jerusalem, a lame beggar
asked Peter for money, Peter told him he didn’t have money but
he did have something to share. This miracle of healing gave
Peter another opportunity to preach the Gospel as a crowd
gathered when they saw the lame man walking, jumping and
praising God. Peter did not have a gift of money to give to this
man, but Peter did have a gift of healing and the Holy Spirit –
what the man was going to receive was better than silver and
gold. Denver believes this also as he and his book give the
message of Jesus (and Denver states that his book will continue
even after his death) and Denver gives constantly to charity
because he knows the real value of his coins.
Denver’s words are spoken through image, scripture and symbols.
His paintings illuminate these thoughts. But Denver says some
things created by God do a better job symbolizing these ideas
for him; therefore, he attached actual seeds from a tree onto
the canvas. These seeds left un-watered are the symbol of “life”
and the potential of the eternal soul that when watered by the
Holy Spirit can grow to be a magnificent source of life and
nourishment.
Transformed from a pauper to a prince, Denver places a crown on
his head and a smile on his face in anticipation when his body
will return to ash, nourishing the trees, and his soul will
finally rise up to meet his Maker. The day Denver leaves this
Earth will be his final day of Triumph Over Tragedy.