ReVisions Art Show Features Boulder Artist

By Jordan Chapman, CRC Communications & Marketing Intern

A few miles before entering Boulder on US-36, right as the Flatirons come into view, there’s a remarkable precipice. This image, of the lucid sun’s ethereal focus on the sand-colored mountains and Boulder Valley below, represents many travelers’ first picture of the city. Imagine viewing a work of art that is as naturally striking as that image. Darren Roebuck’s abstract paintings attain a look that matches the mountainous landscape that surrounds us here in Boulder: both images seem simultaneously jagged and delicate, bright and organic, fluid even as they look static.

It all began with a home renovation project in 2002. “I had leftover building materials that were just too useful to throw away,” Roebuck recalls. “I was opposed to sending it all to the landfill, so I decided to make a weekend project out of the leftovers. I grabbed a piece of drywall and some paint. When the different types of paint reacted, they made this unique psychedelic pattern.” With that, Roebuck created his first abstract painting.

Roebuck employs recycled materials in as many phases of the artistic process as possible. Reclaimed materials like closet and cabinet doors provide unique canvases for his work, and he supplies much of his paint from Boulder County’s Hazardous Materials Management Facility (HMMF). He repurposes these materials to ensure that each aspect of the creative process impacts the environment as little as possible. He describes his use of recycled supplies as a sense of duty he feels “just as a human being.” He loves the challenge of what he calls “taking what one person would consider ‘junk’ and turning it into a beautiful work of art. That’s when I know I’ve accomplished something.” Roebuck’s use of repurposed equipment makes each aspect of his paintings, from the color to the background itself, distinctive.

Although Roebuck admits that he feels like he has more control of his work when he paints with new materials, he enjoys the experiment-like challenge of manipulating recycled items that he finds from friends, local businesses, or even his own garage. “Recycled paint itself produces a completely different look and effect than new paint,” he explains. “When I use recycled paint, I’m often working with different brands, colors, and pigments that all affect the chemistry of the paint itself and make the paints have different reactions.” There is an unpredictable nature to painting with reused materials that “can be really great,” he says.

Roebuck’s art is an ideal fit for the Center for ReSource Conservation’s (CRC) annual ReVisions Art Show. ReVisions highlights art created from re-used, recycled materials and sustainable themes. One of Roebuck’s paintings, called “Looking Up From the Seafloor,” is composed of reclaimed latex paint on a reused 36” x 80” hollow core closet door. It is currently on display at ReSource Fort Collins. Due to the abstract nature of his art, Roebuck often does not advertise his personal title of his paintings. Rather, he enjoys it when viewers create their own interpretations of his works. However, since several people have described “Looking Up From the Seafloor” as emblematic of the image created when one “lies down ocean floor, looks straight up at the surface, at all the plants and animals swirling above your head,” Roebuck feels comfortable sharing its title.

In addition to Roebuck’s piece, over 60 artworks are on display during the full month of June at the CRC’s ReSource Yard, located at 1501 N. College Ave. in Fort Collins. All artwork is on sale and proceeds benefit ReSource Fort Collins, which is the waste reduction branch of the CRC. ReSource promotes waste curtailment through innovative landfill diversion programs, including the ReSource Yards in Boulder and Fort Collins. Daily, ReSource accepts donations of used building materials such as window frames, doors, and furniture. ReSource resells these items to the public at affordable prices. The 2^nd annual ReVisions art show comes to a close on July 1^st, when the whole show will move to New Belgium Brewing Company at 500 Linden. That evening, a closing Gala and Auction of all the art pieces will be held from 7 – 9:30pm. ReSource suggests a $5 donation for the Closing Gala, which includes a ReSource pint glass.

For more information about the CRC and ReVisions Art Show, see www.resourceyard.org. Contact Kendol Gustafson, ReSource Manager, at 970.498.9663 or kgustafson@resourceyard.org. View more of Darren’s paintings on his website, http://djrfineart.com/. In addition to ReVisions, Darren’s paintings are on display during the month of June at South Side Walnut Café in the Table Mesa Shopping Center and Highway Oasis Dispensary, 6859 N. Foothills Highway, Boulder.

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