6"x6", pastel

Artist: Denise LaRue Mahlke

The final price for this pastel will be matched by the Veritas Curat Foundation, thereby doubling the donation to cancer research at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center. 

There is a quiet thoughtfulness and passionate purpose to the work of artist D. LaRue Mahlke. Her paintings convey a sense of restfulness and peace that reflect the spiritual connection she feels for the landscape. Denise believes that being an artist is a calling that involves preserving, celebrating, and sharing God's creation. This sense of having a God-given purpose motivates her to paint from the heart and challenges her to continue to sharper her skills, understanding, and dedication. 

Born in 1957, Mahlke is a native of Texas, currently living in Waco with her husband, Ray. Her work has been featured in American Artist, American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, Pastel Journal, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art and Western Art Collector. She is a Signature member of the Pastel Society of America and an Out-of-State Artist member of the California Art Club. Denise is represented by InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, M Gallery of Fine Art in Charleston, South Carolina and the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts in Mt. Carmel, Utah. 

Selected Exhibitions:

2012-2013 “Artistic Horizons” Invitational Fine Art Show, Bozeman, Montana

2003-2013 “Maynard Dixon Country” Invitational Fine Art Show and Sale, Mt. Carmel, Utah

2012 “Small Works, Great Wonders winter art sale”~ National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

2012 Coors National Western Art Exhibit and Sale ~ Silent Auction, Denver, Colorado

2012 D. LaRue Mahlke ~ Petit Salon Show, M Gallery of Fine Art, Charleston, South Carolina

2011 Pastel Society of America Annual Show

2010-2011 “The Russell” ~ C.M. Russell Museum Fine Art Show,  Great Falls, Montana

2010 “Masters in Miniature”~ C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana

2010 American Plains Artists 26^th Annual Art of the Plains Exhibit, Great Plains Art Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska   

2010 “Night of Artists” Invitational, Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas

2009-2013 InSight Gallery Group Shows ~ “Texas Masters”, “Fall Show”, “Small Works Show”

2009-2010  “Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West” Invitational Fine Art Show, Desert        Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, Arizona

2008  Phippen Museum 34th Annual Western Art Show, Prescott, Arizona

2007-2009  Gilcrease Museum's American Art in Miniature, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Selected Awards and Honors:

First Place, Landscape Category ~ Art Renewal Center’s International ARC Salon 2011/2012

Finalist ~ Art Renewal Center’s International ARC Salon 2011/2012 and 2012/2013

Third Place, Landscape Category ~ Pastel Journal 14^th Annual Pastel 100 Competition 2012

Finalist ~ Art Renewal Center’s International ARC Salon 2010/2011

First Place ~ 6” Squared Fine Art Exhibit, Randy Higbee Gallery  2010

First Place, Honorable Mention, and Top 100 Finalist in Landscape ~ Art Renewal Center’s International ARC Salon 2009/2010

First in Pastels ~ Phippen Museum 34^th Annual Western Art Show 2008

Milford Zornes Best Work on Paper Award ~ Maynard Dixon Country Invitational 2004

Best Small Pastel Award ~ Maynard Dixon Country Invitational 2003

Signature Membership ~ Pastel Society of America

Publications:

Kolpas, Norman. “Deep Connections”. Southwest Art.  pp 68 -73. March 2013

Doherty, M. Stephen. "Denise LaRue Mahlke: Techniques in Response to Landscape". Plein Air Magazine. pp 69-73. Winter 2011

"Lone Star Scenery". The Pastel Journal. p 72. August 2010

Fauntleroy, Gussie. "On Location: Six Artists Hooked on Painting Outdoors". Southwest Art. p 108. June 2010

Doherty, M. Stephen. "Denise LaRue Mahlke: Art as a Calling". American Artist. pp 60-67. June 2008