Dione Holt, Redstone Gallery
Press Release

Editor’s note:The author, Dione Holt, is the assistant of the Redstone Gallery. 

If you pick up The Sopris Sun most weeks, you’ve seen Larry Day’s work. His cartoons have run in these pages since after he and his wife moved to Carbondale in 2019. What you may not know is that Day is also an accomplished landscape painter, and that the two have more in common than you might think. 

Day is from rural Illinois, where, by his own admission, he “flunked high school art.” He went on to earn an associate degree in commercial art, worked as an artist for pinball and video arcade games and built a long and successful career as a storyboard artist in the advertising industry — drawing for companies such as McDonald’s, Allstate and Hallmark. He became an award-winning children’s book illustrator, and has received numerous honors for his advertising work, his illustrations and his cartoons for The Sopris Sun. 

Day’s landscape paintings feel like a departure from everything that came before, and in some ways they are. He paints predominantly en plein air, a term coined by the French Impressionists of the 19th century, meaning to paint outdoors from life. The work is loose and expressive, built up with layered texture and color, and the subject matter and brushwork carry clear echoes of French Impressionism.

”Beaver Pond,” currently on display at the Redstone Gallery, is a case in point: vibrant blues and violets, deep reflections and a textured surface of water plants. It reads like Colorado’s answer to Monet’s “Water Lilies.” 

On the surface, it seems like Day’s paintings are in complete opposition to illustration and comics. However, when understanding his inspiration, it starts to make sense. Day says one of his influences is French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe. 

“He loves to work with chaos, and I do also. I think that’s one of my philosophical roots — to take chaos and to control it.”  

If you’ve followed Day’s landscape painting progress over recent years, you’ll have noticed his work has made a progression from chaos to much more refinement in his more recent work. He is demonstrating an ability to reign in the chaos. 

This month, Joy & Wylde and the Redstone Gallery are showcasing Day’s newest paintings: expressive oil landscapes rooted in the Crystal Valley and local areas. On Thursday April 23, from 4 to 6pm, the gallery will host a free ”Evening with the Artist.” Day will speak about his work and career and will take questions from the audience. Wine and charcuterie will be served. 

For those who want to see his illustration work alongside the paintings, Day’s storyboard illustrations are currently part of a group exhibition at the Aspen Chapel Gallery. Day will also be participating in this year’s Redstone Plein Air Festival, June 22 to 28. 

Joy & Wylde, located on the banks of the Crystal River, offers a unique blend of art, shopping and dining in a thoughtfully designed setting. The gallery features a notable collection of painting, sculpture and ceramics, while the boutique offers curated, locally handmade jewelry, textiles and home décor. At the Wylde Café, guests can enjoy coffee and fresh pastries in the morning — sandwiches, charcuterie, wine and cocktails throughout the day. The relaxed riverside setting makes it an ideal place to spend time browsing, eating and unwinding. This summer, Joy & Wylde will host the annual Plein Air Festival June 22 to 28 in partnership with the Redstone Art Foundation. 

The April 23 “Evening with the Artist” is free and open to the public. Joy & Wylde is located at 173 Redstone Boulevard. For more information, visit joywylde.com