In 1980 Don Coen was down at the family farm in Southeastern Colorado with his friend, Larry Schultz. That evening while goose hunting at the Queen's Lake area, they witnessed an evening sky that made Larry remark, "Don, you have always loved this area, you should paint it." Coen remarked that perhaps someday he might.

Upon returning to Denver, Coen began to think more about the Lamar area, his roots, and the vast open space that he had come to appreciate more and more each time he returned. The stark, quiet openness of the plains that was so different from the mountain images which people had come to associate with Colorado.

He then sat down and made a list of 15 images, how he had seen these painted and how he might paint them. His intent was to present this subject as it really is, as he had experienced it firsthand, not the 1930s rural nostalgia of broken-down barns and cowboys and Indians galloping across the plains, which was often used to show the rural world. His vision would be up-close and personal, showing the patterns and textures he had observed living and growing up on the family farm. Coen then took over 4,000 slides, selected his 15 images, and three years and 6,000 hours later completed "The Lamar Series."

These paintings were 6'x6' up to 7'x9' and were painted with up to 60 layers of transparent airbrush acrylic.

The series opened at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and then toured for two years to museums throughout the Midwest by Mid-America Arts Alliance.

To view additional paintings please visit the paintings section