Donald Wayne Coen, transitioned to the other side Tuesday, September 23rd in his beautiful house, surrounded by the family that loved him so deeply.
His transition and send off was as peaceful, magical and love filled as we could have ever hoped for.
He was 2 months shy of being 90 which he was so excited to reach.
For those that knew Don you know he loved life like no other.
He was known as a wonderful and devoted, husband, father, friend – had such a big heart, was generous, kind, protective, strong, funny, a bit eccentric – and, a profound artist who captured the spirit of the American West.
He was unstoppable, and was just always busy living life and doing what he loved – loving and supporting his family, friends and strangers, creating beautiful and prolific art hung and collected by the top museums and art collectors around the world, cracking jokes with a side eye, riding his bike, going to the gym, golfing, working on his koi pond.
And, he was passionate about giving monthly to Animal and Veterans causes and loved helping people who needed help load their groceries at King Soopers.
From a very early age Don just saw the landscape differently. He often said that others weren’t taught or didn’t take the time to really see and connect with the land. I don’t think anyone saw a tumble weed, a barb wire fence, a dirt road or a telephone pole the way he did. It was just very special.
He saw all the animals and critters in his own way – a cow, horse, pig, fish. Don saw and felt the spirit of the land and all who lived within it. He saw the same in people, in plants, in ravines, rivers, water, lakes. It all spoke to him.
When he took photographs, it wasn’t to document, it was to hold a feeling, the feeling of their spirit, their souls, that he had experienced when he first saw them. Later, at home he would sit with those photographs, and he would pick the one that so spoke to that feeling of spirit, the dirt road, the field, the old pickup truck, the light on all objects, the dog, the water, and the land. Then he’d project and lightly sketch it with pencil. He then began to paint it on the canvas hanging on the wall, and witness it start to come to life.
Sometimes he painted people, his cowboy Dad, the farm workers, family, friends and of course many Migrant farm workers for his Migrant Farmworker Collection. Again, he was painting what he saw inside them, life force, source energy. He saw God. He saw life itself.
He would sit alone in his studio, sometimes with our one-eyed-dog Ringo on his lap and he would paint. He would paint their spirit again, layer by layer, stroke by stroke, until the spirit was all the way there, until it lived on the canvas. He would sit with it for hours, for days. That’s where he felt love, where he felt the divine, in that space between himself and what he was painting.
When the spirit finally emerged, he would share it. That was the part he loved most – to let others see what he had seen, to offer that glimpse of the beauty, the honesty, the sacredness of life.
That was his connection. That was his way of loving. And he would share it with the world and those who were lucky enough to see it. And he loved sharing it, but the thing he loved most was connecting with it as it emerged. And the world is brighter because he shared it.
Don was born in Lamar Colorado on November 24th, 1935 (or as he Loved to tell everyone— 1835 with a chuckle) to Seth and Helen Coen with big brother Cleo. He always shared how blessed his life had been, that he’d had the best childhood with loving and supporting parents. He loved growing up and working on their beautiful 600 acre southeastern Colorado farm with his deep love for the land, animals, his friends and family.
He slept outside on the covered porch of their one-bedroom house and loved it. He would wake at sunrise to feed all the cattle and collect the eggs before he rode his horse to his one room country schoolhouse.
His parents and the farm taught him discipline that he took with him throughout his life in all that he did.
He spoke his truth, was good for his word and his handshake meant everything. He did what it took, no matter how difficult it was —with deep dedication and unstoppable drive.
Sitting at the kitchen table as a young child he had an unusual ability to draw the land, people and animals he loved. His farmer parents didn’t know about art or where this adult like talent came from but encouraged him to keep drawing. In high school, this lead him to receive an art scholarship for College in Denver.
In 1957 he met his future wife of 68 years, Frances Coen. They enjoyed 5 years being newlyweds, before having their first child Tanya Leigh the first born, Shane Allen, 2 years later and 7 years later was born Cord Dallas.
He attended Lamar High School from 1949-1953. He went to Lamar Jr. College for 2 years before going to Denver University on an art scholarship.
While attending D.U. he entered the Denver Art Museum’s, “Own Your Own” Contest. He was the youngest person (22) to win the contest with a bronze sculpture of a buffalo which became the first of many pieces that the Denver Art Museum would own as part of their permanent collection.
After 1 year working at Martin Marietta he then attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where he received his Master’s degree. He then taught art at Aurora Jr. High before transferring to Boulder where he was the Chairman of the Fine Arts Dept. at Boulder High School.
From there he went to Red Rocks Community College as the Department Chairman of Fine Arts for approximately 20 years.
During those years of teaching, he continued to paint in his studio at home. Much of his art is in permanent museum collections around the U.S., including the Denver Art Museum, private collections and he continued to enter many art shows and garnered many awards for his art.
He completed 3 different art series. 1st was the abstract “Symbolist Space” painting series – inspired by first seeing the film, 2001 Space Odyssey. Then came the “Contemporary Rural America” art series, followed by the “Migrant Series” — up close and personal paintings of Migrant farm workers taken from photos he’d taken of migrants as he traveled around the country taking hundreds of photos. The last 2 series both toured throughout the country in prominent art museums.
In his later years, the unstoppable love and support he exuded was the thread through Don’s life, the easy, the hard, the beautiful, the painful and profound.
What a magnificent gift this is. What an incredible legacy to leave. What a job well done on the things that matter most.
