R. Geoffrey Blackburn
Biography
1956-2023
1956-1970 (including) Surreal Period
Red Rock Period
- 1974 to present:
From 1970-1973, prior to my "Red Rock Period," I painted
almost exclusively Old West figurative scenes often
featuring cowboys on the trail doing various cowboy things
and prospectors panning for gold and so on. One of the last
of these works entitled "The Posse" was completed in 1972
and displayed at the Jailhouse Gallery in
Taos, New Mexico. After a few months I
decided that the posse would look more natural riding
through a desert than through a forest, so I asked the
gallery to return the painting so I could change the
background. One by one members of the Posse began
disappearing under a coat of paint until, at last, there was
only the Sheriff riding along the edge of a cliff, rifle in
hand. Finally, he too was painted over and thus the
painting, "Desert Canyons" was created. (In just the right
light, the posse was still visible under the desert, buried
for all time like the cowboys of the old west). The final
version now entitled
"Desert Canyons" was completed in 1974 and thus began my
"Red Rock Period".
Being basically an environmentalist, when my then father-in-law,
James Amon Murley Jr., ( a truly colorful character right
out of an old west novel, and an old fashioned mining man who had little
use for an artist son-in-law), thought I ought to get into
something "more substantial" like uranium prospecting and promoting, I could hardly refuse.
Fortunately for me, this worked out rather well because in 1970
(when all this happened) uranium was considered THE clean environmentally friendly alternative to
coal and all the big energy companies were scrambling to buy
fuel for their new reactors so, the uranium boom of the
1970's was off and running and I had a front row seat!
As it turned out, I ended up operating a mineral exploration company based in Salt Lake City, working out of Moab, Utah. I prospected,
staked claims, drilled, and promoted uranium properties all
over the Colorado Plateau. On occasion, I even confronted
armed claim jumpers. I worked with local claim owners and
major energy companies often doing million dollar deals on
napkins in bars and restaurants into the wee hours. The boom
finally went bust when the melt-down happened at Three Mile Island that caused everyone to rethink the environmental efficacy
of nuclear reactors...
Working and living in canyon country, I was totally
captivated by the amazing red rock vistas around Moab. I was concurrently
doing photo studies and sketches of the scenes I encountered
prospecting in the area. When I returned to Salt Lake City, I turned many of these studies
and sketches into paintings- a practice I continue to this
day. Given my aesthetic connection to this beautiful
country, I was particularly concerned about the potential
environmental impact of mineral exploration and mining on
the land. Over the years, I had seen many examples of wanton
destruction from previous mining operations, some of them
dating back to the 19th century when people simply did not
consider environmental factors. Therefore, we took great
pains to leave any area we explored just as we found it. I
dare say that one would find no trace of us ever having been
on any of the properties we explored.
Although I have studied art both privately
and at the University of Utah, I am essentially
self-taught. My first recognition as an
artist came at the age of eight when my work won first prize
at the annual exhibit at the world-famous Old Mission at
San Juan Capistrano
California. I have spent time in Europe studying the work of the Renaissance Masters. While
in
Englandi n the early
1970's, I was the principle artist for an international
magazine. In late 1987 I "fathered" an exciting
new art form I call "Multi-Dimensionalism." I
was granted a patent for this user-interactive invention by the U. S. Patent
Office in 1990. Of this new art form, Vern Swanson, Director of the
Springville wrote ". . . I
was captivated by the beauty, peacefulness and stimulating
quality of Blackburn's creation. "I fully recommend this radical new
innovation . . . We believe that his work will make an
important contribution to society for the immediate future,
bringing art back to the people."
The streets of Moab are no longer choked with red dust or rumble with gigantic
trucks heading to Atlas Minerals to offload their ore.
Instead they are full of tourists and off-road adventurers
here to soak up the astonishing red rock vistas that I hiked
through and painted over the decades. And gone forever is the hideous Atlas eyesore! How
absolutely wonderful!!!
R. Geoffrey Blackburn
Exhibitions
-
2023 Top Featured Artist
- ARTtour International -
- 2023 Award: Honorable Mention, Artist of the Year Award
- Circle Foundation For the Arts -
Lyon, France
-
2022 Finalist: Butterfly Effect Online Exhibition -
Contemporary Art Curator Magazine
-
2021
Featured Artist Contemporary Art Magazine 23
Circle Foundation For the Arts - Lyon, France
- 2020 Finalist: International Realism Guild 2020
Spring Salon
- 2020 Award: Honorable Mention, Artist of the Year Award
- Circle Foundation For the Arts -
Lyon, France
-
2020 34th International Artivita Online Art
Exhibition Art Expo New York -
Certificate of Excellence
- 2019 Honorable
Mention, Artist of the Year Award Circle Foundation For
the Arts - Lyon, France
- 2018
WINNER - Gamblin Artist Colors Material Award for Landscape in
Oil Award - Salmagundi Open Painting Sculpture & Graphics Exhibition,
The Salmagundi Club, NYC, NY
- 2018 13th Annual International Guild of Realism Juried Exhibition - Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- 2018 NOAPS
Finalist - Spring International On-Line Exhibition
-
2017-2018
ARC Salon Finalist USA - 3,750 entries from 69 countries
Two Hawks
-
2017 Finalist 12th Annual International Guild of Realism Juried
Exhibition, Winfield Gallery, Carmel-by-The_Sea, CA
-
2017 PALM ART AWARD - 1st Prize Winner, Quedlinburg, Germany
-
2017 Finalist- ARC 13th International Salon
- 2016-2017 First Place Special Recognition - "New Beginnings" Exhibition - Manhattan Arts International - NYC, NY
-
2016 Close to Home-Our Own Spectacular National Parks - St. George Museum, St. George, UT
- 2015 Masterworks Museum Tour - International Guild of Realism
- 2015 Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
- 2014 Palm Art Award , Quedlinburg, Germany
-
2014 9th Annual International Guild of Realism Juried
Exhibition - Awarded "Best Landscape",Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC
-
2014 Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
- 2013 7th Annual Paint the
Parks Juried Competition,The Coutts Museum of Art,El Dorado, KS
-
2013 8th Annual International
Guild of Realism Juried Exhibition -
Awarded "Best of Landscape",Tempe Center for
the Arts, Tempe, AZ
- 2013 Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
- 2013 Western Artists of American Miniature Show, Heritage Museum,
Billings, MT
-
2012-2013 Finalist Art Renewal Center
International Salon - 9th Annual Juried Competition
-
2012-2013 Who's Who in Visual Art - 42 Masters of Realistic
Imagery, English & German, Leipzig, Germany
- 2012 American Society of Traditional Artists, Open Range
Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
- 2012 Artavita 3rd Art Contest Juried Show-Honorable Mention,
Santa Barbara, CA
- 2012 Western Artists of America 8th Annual Sale and Exhibition, Pearce Museum, Corsicana, TX., USA
-
2012 6th Annual PaintAmerica, Top 100 Competition, Juried show
- 2012 6th Annual PaintAmerica, Mini Top 50 Competition, Juried show
-
2012 Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
-
2011
Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
- 2010 PaintAmerica, Top100 Competition, Juried show
- 2010 PaintAmerica, Mini Top50 Competition, Juried show
- 2010 Springville Museum of Art, 84th Annual Spring Salon, Juried Exhibition, UT
- 2010 Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
-
2010 5th Annual International
Guild of Realism Juried Show -.Awarded: "Best Landscape", Palm
Desert, CA
- 2009 PaintAmerica,Mini Top50 Competition, Juried show
- 2009 Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
- 2009 Paint the Parks, PaintAmerica Juried show
- 2009 Springville Museum of Art, 85th Annual Spring Salon
- 2009 International Art Show Part I: Realism' Guests Gallery
-
2008-09 iBiennial of Contemporary Art
- 2008-09 Saatchi Online Gallery, UK
- 2008-12 Artbreak
- 2008 Guests Gallery Work of the New Year
- 2008 “Small Works North America” Greenwich Workshop, Fairfield, CT
- 2008
Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competitions and
Exhibition
- 2008 Springville Museum of Art, 84th Annual Spring Salon, Juried Exhibition, Springville, UT
- 2008 The President's Art Show, SLC, UT
- 2007 “Small Works North America” Greenwich Workshop, Fairfield, CT
- 2007 Red Rock in Detail, one-man-show, Moab, UT
- 2007 Art Expo Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
- 2007 The West in Detail, Horizon Fine Art, Jackson, WY
- 2007-Finalist Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition
- 2007 9th Annual New Horizons Academy Art Show and Auction, Las Vegas, NV
- 2006 63rd Annual National Art Exhibit, Cedar City, UT
- 2006 Freedom Festival Fine Art Exhibit, Provo, UT
- 2006 The President's Art Show (the Museum of Utah Art & History)
- 1997 Springville Museum of Art, 73rd Annual Spring Salon
- 1996 Springville Museum of Art, 72nd Annual Spring Salon
- 1995 Springville Museum of Art, 7lst Annual Spring Salon
- 1995 1994 Springville Museum of Art: Art with a Religious Theme
- 1975 Springville Museum of Art, 5lst Annual Art Exhibit (Painting reproduced in Catalogue)
- 1975 Associated Utah Artists Invitational Exhibit
- 1974 Hilton Hotel Invitational
- 1974 Deseret News Heritage Art Show
- 1974 All Utah Art Exhibit (Springville Museum of Art & Utah State Institute of Fine Art)
- 1960 Art at the Abyss 1960
- 1956 Old Mission School Art Festival, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Galleries
- 2012 Open Range Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
- 2010 J. Willot Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
- 2009 Kolb Gallery, Grand Canyon, AZ
- 2008-09 Pinetop Contemporary Gallery, Pinetop, AZ
- 2008 Old Church Gallery, Springdale, UT
- 2007-08 Marshall Arts Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
- 2007 Greenwich Workshop Gallery, Fairfield, CT
- 2007-08 Moab Art Works, Moab UT
- 2006-09 Horizon Fine Art, Jackson, WY
- 2006-08 Art Encounter, Las Vegas NV
- 2005-2006 Stanfield Fine Art, Park City, UT
- 1989-1997 C-Gallery, SLC, UT
- 1996,1986 Old Town Gallery, Park City, UT
- 1990 Liebenson Gallery, SLC, UT
- 1990 Brushworks Gallery, SLC, UT
- 1986 J. Christensen Gallery, SLC, UT
- 1983-84 Fine Arts Gallery, Ardmore, PA
- 1983-84 Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ
- 1983-84 Hawkeye, Galleries, Ltd., Aspen, CO
- 1983-84 Aldridge Fine Arts Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
- 1980-90 Winn Galleries, Seattle, WA
- 1974-1975 Old Jailhouse Gallery, Taos, NM
- 1975 Jamaica Bay Inn, Marina Del Rey, CA
- 1973 Tivoli Gallery, SLC, UT
- 1973 C'est Bon Hotel, Park City
- 1971-74 Old House Gallery, SLC, UT
- 1971-72 Jail House Gallery, Taos, NM
- 1960 The Abyss, SLC, UT
Institution Collections
- Allstate Insurance Company
- North West Pipeline Company
- LDS Museum of Church History and Art
- Rancher Exploration &Development Corp.
- Hecla Mining Company
- First Security Bank Corporation
Private Collections
- Dr. Armand Hammer
- Balloonist, Maxie L. Anderson
- Actor/ Director, Robert Redford
TV Appearance
Publications
-
2021 Features Artist Contemporary Art Magazine 23 - Circle
Arts Foundation For the Arts - Lyon, France
-
2019 Fall -Featured Artist- Circle Quarterlyartreview
-
Circle Foundation For the Arts - Lyon, France
-
2019 Excellent Art - Enter into Art 2019 English and
German
- 2019 Circle Foundation for the Arts-Artist of the Year Award
2019 - Honorable Mention Award
- 2018 Western Art Collector, featured - Canyons & Deserts
- 2018 Fine Art Connoisseur
-
2017 Professional Artist (magazine)
- 2015-2016 Who's Who in Visual Art-50 Masters of Realistic Imagery
- 2014 American Art Collector, featured, IGOR show
- 2013 Southwest Art,
Preview IGOR Show,featured artist
- 2013 American Art Collector, featured, IGOR show
- 2012-2013 Who's Who in Visual Art-42 Masters of Realistic Imagery
- 2012 Best of America Landscape Artists, Vol.I
- 2012 American Art Collector, featured ASTA show
- 2012 Western Art Collector, featured - State of the Art: Utah
- 2012 Western Art Collector, featured - Western Artist of America Show: Texas
- 2010 American Art Collector, featured artist, IGOR show
-
2009 Western Art Collector, featured artist- State of the Art: Utah
- 2008 Western Art Collector
- 2008 "Utah Painters of the Red Rock"
Awards
-
2021:
International Jury Member
6th "Enter into Art" International Contest 2020-21 in
Germany for the book "Art Retreat-Living with pictures" (miniprint and
mixed media)
-
2017 Palm Art
Award 1st Prize Winner, Art Domain Group, Qeudlinburg, Germany
- 2016-2017 First Place Special Recognition - "New Beginnings" Exhibition - Manhattan Arts International - NYC, NY
-
2014 Palm Art
Merit Award, Art Domain Group, Qeudlinburg, Germany
-
2014
"Best of Landscape", 9th Annual International Guild of Realism Juried
Exhibition, Charleston, SC
-
2013 "Best of Landscape", 8th Annual International Guild of Realism Juried Exhibition,
Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe, AZ
- 2012-2013
Palm Art Merit Award, Art Domain in Verlag, Leipzig, Germany
- 2012 Honorable Mention, Artavita 3rd Art Contest Juried Exhibition-
Santa Barbara, CA
-
2010 "Best of Landscape", 5th Annual International
Guild of Realism Juried Exhibition, Palm
Desert, CA
- 1990 United States Patent described by Springville Museum Director, Dr. Vern G. Swanson as a
"new art form".