"Aficionado"by David Baze

The Coopriders purchased "Aficionado" at David Zapf Gallery along with a smaller Baze "Chimera". David self-portrait as the puppeteer of his wife, and David below the puppet commanded by his wife. David Baze paints himself in much of his art just observing the scene. David’s art was influenced by Edward Hopper.

In The LA Times, Leah #Ollman on June 3, 1992 wrote about the David Baze Exhbition "Homage to Hopper”, "Melancholy permeates Hopper's paintings much like it does Baze's, and Baze, too saturates his scenes with warm light to intensify the mood of alienation that so many of his characters feel, even among crowds…visual double-entendres… mysterious and lonely moments”.

David was born in Norfolk, VA. November 23, 1947. In his early years on a school trip to the Toledo Art Museum, David was fascinated by the masters, from Degas to Hopper to Sargent. He attended a Junior college being honored as 1 of 15 “Men of Distinction” and was given a scholarship to California State University at Fullerton where he completed his MA.

David was a gourmet cook, played guitar very well, and wrote short stories. His “My Childhood Coloring Book” was listed in the Library of Congress. David wanted to become a full-time writer after his career as an artist ended.

When David learned he had terminal cancer and suffered extreme pains, he tenaciously completed commissions of large life-sized portraits he had accepted before the bad news arrived. David’s close friends Jay Johnson and David Richardson devised a pulley system to lift David’s arm up to the canvas as the cancer in his left armpit was growing rapidly.

Before his death, David asked Jay Johnson to craft an elegant wooden box for his ashes with a window to see out. Along with David’s birthdate and deathdate Jay asked if he might add words of his own. Those words are” An Artist Through It All”. So true.” This biographical information you are reading is an excerpt from Kathryn Baze, David’s mother, who posted the story in 2006 on a website “ALMOST MAYBE”. Unfortunately the link no longer functions. From other publications, it is very clear that David valued his friends and was always willing to loan a helping hand. David Baze passed away in 1998.

Read the San Diego Reader Cover Story here. David_Baze