The Book I Read

Here’s the information on the “Survivors” book, which features a number of inspirational stories about dogs who are fighting cancer, including Jake’s. Jamie Rowe did an amazing job at our photo shoot a few weeks back. Check out her blog and the video below. And if you’re feeling generous, buy a copy for yourself or another dog lover. I just ordered mine. Proceeds benefit the CSU Animal Cancer. Thanks to the great docs up there, I’ve had Jake a year longer than I thought. That’s worth $25 to me any day.

Art Lover

We were up early today for a rare morning outing. This time we met up with a photographer, Jaime Rowe. She’s working with the CSU Animal Cancer Center on a book about canine cancer called “Survivors”. Dr. Christine Hardy asked me if Jake could be featured as one of the stories and pose for some professional photos. Well, of course. Jaime has taken action shots of Jake at the K-9’s for Cancer walk last year, as well as the recent Project Ruffway benefit, but this was the first time he has received a full-on photo shoot. The book will be out in September and I’ll post details later.

Jaime wanted an urban setting and she suggested the grounds of the Denver Art Museum. Jake and I were there last year with 9News and got some great pics in front of the “Cow & Calf” sculpture. I was definitely ready to go back and get some more shots in front of the massive outdoor sculptures. Jaime’s shots will be on her website soon but here are a few taken with my camera. Jake in front of the north entrance, with the new building designed by Daniel Libeskind in the background.

The sculpture on the left is by Beverly Pepper. It’s called “Untitled” but when I worked at the DAM, we always referred to it as the “monoliths”. Jake pooped right in front of it. Was that an editorial comment, or just the spot with the greenest grass?


A fun shot that captures both buildings…the new one by Daniel Libeskind and the original one by Gio Ponti.

Me and Jake in front of “The Big Sweep” by Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg. This is another one of those sculptures that gets mixed reactions but it always made me smile.

Technically this one is on the grounds of the Denver Public Library. It’s called “The Yearling” by Donald Lipski. By the way, this is the second horse sculpture he’s been to. Check out the exclusive up-close access we got for “Mustang” at DIA last year.
Last stop: “Wheel” by Edgar Heap of Birds. Each of these red “tree” structures has text and images related to the history of Native Americans. On the back wall, there’s a sentence that reads, in Cheyenne, “nah-kev-ho-eyea-zim”. It means “We are always returning back home again.” I agree, on so many levels.

Check out more of our public art stops here. There’s a comprehensive guide you can download from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs if you’re interested.

Red Frame/White Light

Multiple photos and posts, all from one day. Broke my own rules but sometimes you gotta color outside the lines. And why not? I almost used a different photo of Jake here…one of him “smiling”. But then I saw this one. Eyes closed like a Robert Mapplethorpe portrait. Like he is taking in a deep breath or saying a prayer? Lord, make me a bird so I can fly far, far away?

The Red and the Black

In 1968, a group of contemporary artists named “Art for the Cities, Inc.” had a concept for 9 abstract sculptures in D.C. Burns Park. These were meant to be temporary but four sculptures still remain today. So, why some and not others? Here’s Jake in front of two of them. They’re both called “Untitled”. The closest one is by Wilbert Verhelst made of plywood. The furthest one is by Roger Kotoske, made of plywood and fiberglass.

Heart Shaped World

Our neighbor down the block, Gina, stopped by with a surprise Valentine for Jake. She’s quite talented. She drew his portrait a few months back and created an awesome thank you card when we dropped off more art supplies one day. I love the paper-doll cutouts of Jake on this piece. Once again, she captures the leg brace perfectly.

Thank U

Jake likes to share his holiday time. This year, he’s spending Thanksgiving at Paul’s house. He’ll do Christmas with me and Dan. Consequently I don’t have some kooky turkey-themed photo of him. But how about this instead? After our neighbor, Gina, did that great portrait of Jake a couple weeks ago, we stopped by her house to give her a bag of art supplies. She promptly returned that evening with a “thank you” card. This one features me and Jake.

Your Painted Smile

Denver has spectacular Indian summers. Today was a textbook example. A perfect day for raking leaves and cleaning up the front yard. Jake stayed outside with me, lounging in the sun. I think his leg was pretty sore today because he didn’t move around much. Regardless, he always wants a walk at 4pm no matter how bad it hurts. We took our usual short route around the block and came across this sign.

One of our younger neighbors, Gina, was drawing pet portraits for free. Well, of course we’re going to participate. While she was working on her artwork, Jake stole a piece of banana bread from her table. I suppose that was his “sitting fee”. The finished piece is fantastic. Don’t you love how she even captured his leg brace?

Milk Cow Blues

Best piece of outdoor artwork at the Denver Art Museum, hands down. It’s called “Scottish Angus Cow & Calf” by Dan Ostermiller. A lot of people must like it too because someone is always hovering around, waiting to have their photo taken in front of it. Especially kids. Today was Jake’s turn. I worked at the DAM for several years during the expansion. BTW, best office location I ever had. Right inside the new Hamilton Building. Whenever I needed a mental health break, I just walked upstairs and strolled through a few galleries. How cool is that?

Two things stick in my mind about these bronze sculptures:

First, I remember the day they installed them. The pieces pulled up on a flatbed truck. I walked out of the museum to the surreal sight of the calf sailing through the air at the end of a crane.

Second, it wasn’t even part of the initial plan for the artwork outside the new building (like the Big Sweep or Denver Monoliths). Someone wanted to donate it to us. We found an empty spot on the south end of the site. It was one of those serendipitous events where the single best thing is always the one that you didn’t anticipate. Unscripted. Unplanned. Unexpected. Just like Jake’s current journey.

Bring on the Dancing Horses

If there’s one piece of public art in Denver that anyone has an opinion about, it’s probably this one. It’s called “Mustang/Mesteño” by Luiz Jiménez. You’ll find it on the drive out to Denver International Airport. I thought it was brilliant when it was unveiled. I love it even more after Jake and I got a rare opportunity to see it in person. The textures and colors are even more striking up close. Some people have called it “demonic” and “scary” and have campaigned to remove it. Hoo boy, you guys need to get out more if you’re that disturbed by a 32-foot piece of fiberglass. The horse stays. Now go find something more productive to do with your time.

(Muchas gracias to Jeff and Matt for setting this one up, and to Jenny for making the initial introduction.)

Every Day is Halloween

This weekend was pretty rough. Jake couldn’t keep anything down. I tried it all. Smaller portions of dog food. Tiny pieces of a Wendy’s grilled chicken breast. White rice from a Chinese restaurant. Saltine crackers. He ate everything with his typical Labrador intensity. But it just came up a half hour later, coated with a fluorescent yellow-orange slime. We stopped his anti-inflammatory medicine since one of the side effects includes gastrointestinal problems. I was terrified that this was really the beginning of the downslide. It took a day but he’s so much better now. After that scare, I felt like we needed to go lighter. Dan was searching for something in the basement and found a box of Halloween stuff. It was a beautiful spring day so we took turns putting stuff on him in the back yard. Jake is such a good sport and will do anything to please. All of the pics are really funny but here are a few of our favorites. I know…it’s a poor imitation of William Wegman’s work, but it really made us all laugh. Humor is such a wonderful defense mechanism for dark times. I use it all the time.

Blue Monday

Ah, the Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center. Here’s a piece of public artwork that everyone raves about. It’s “I See What You Mean” by Lawrence Argent. We stopped here in the morning when people were rushing to their jobs downtown. Some in suits. Some in sensible white tennis shoes that they change out of when they hit the office. They always smile when they see Jake. Nobody expects to see a dog on a workday. I love the scale of this photo. This tiny little white shape in front of a 40-foot blue wall.

Aliens vs. Predator

Everyone refers to this sculpture at the Denver Performing Arts Complex as the “dancing naked aliens”. It’s really called “The Dancers” by Jonathan Borofsky. I might be in the minority but I love driving on Speer Boulevard and seeing these guys. They’re perfect for the site. Denver requires 1% of any city capital improvement project over $1M to go to public art. Such a great idea. Oh, and count me in as one of the few that also likes “Mustang” at DIA. I’ve got to figure a way to get Jake out to that one.

Artists Only

I thought it might be nice to add some variety to the images occasionally. Dan used one of my photos to create this piece of artwork. It reminds me of a contemporary German artist named Daniel Richter.