At 75, I am now a retired architect who flirts with watercolor. I was born in upstate New York, in the small college town of Morrisville, about halfway between Syracuse and Utica in the Mohawk Valley, just a stone’s throw from the Erie Canal.
I attended the SUNY at Delhi (New York) where I received a degree in Construction Technology, and then transferred to Boulder to complete my studies in architecture at the University of Colorado. I was a principal in one of Denver’s largest architectural firms for nearly 20 years, and was the author of a popular book that was written with the goal of standardizing office procedures and practices across the architectural profession. In 2003, I established my own practice, and I have been practicing since 2008 as an expert witness working with attorneys in cases involving alleged construction and design defects. I haven’t formally retired, but work has had a hard time finding me in Lawrence, and I decided to do some things I have wanted to do since grade school.
I was immediately enchanted by watercolor when I was first exposed to it in a class on architectural drawing in my first year as an architectural student. But the rigors of work prevented me from becoming engaged in the painting of watercolors until 2013, when my wife, Rhonda, and I moved to Oregon to support our younger son, who was studying to become a high school teacher. We got to enjoy many parts of the state, and particularly the coastal areas. We remained there for 3 years, when Rhonda’s job took us to the Seattle area. While we enjoyed Washington very much, Rhonda’s job brought us back to Colorado at the end of 2016. Near the beginning of the pandemic, we moved to Lawrence, Kansas to be closer to our older son, Christopher, and his wife, Tina. They live in Kansas City.
My focus in watercolor has been flowers, as I am drawn to the natural vibrancy and color that flowers offer. My latest work is with bridges, including The Brooklyn Bridge and the St. John’s Bridge in Portland (Oregon), as well as some Christmas and Valentine’s Day cards. Since we moved to Lawrence, home of the Kansas Jayhawks, I have had difficulty disciplining myself to get back into painting. I had become stagnant, and I realized that I felt that I had accomplished what I originally set out to learn about watercolor, and I was ready for a new challenge. I have always loved to draw, and when architectural drawing became computerized, I looked for more anodyne outlets for my pent up creative energy. I don’t remember what re-awakened my interest in sketching and combining that with watercolor, but something did and I am looking forward to learning some new things in this course. Many thanks!
Larry Jenks
