Larry
was my dad. 16 years after his passing, I wanted to leave a lasting
memorial to his life's achievements. He was an outstanding artist
with world-class talent, but that was buried within his daily work -
"architectural rendering". He painted what houses and buildings
would look like to help architects sell their projects. These are
all the photos we have left of the thousands of paintings he must have done
in his career. We still have the handful of fine art he produced.Mr. Davenport died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, in Kansas City, Mo.
He was born April 25, 1933, in Newton, the son of Fred Moody Davenport and Mary Jane Hall. He attended Newton High School and Kansas University, where he played basketball for the Jayhawks from 1951 to 1956.
Mr. Davenport served in the
U.S. Air Force from 1956 to 1959. He worked as a commercial
artist in Kansas
City, Colorado Springs, San Francisco, and then, Denver
from 1959 until he retired in 2001.
He was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity and Newton High School's Athletic and Fine Arts Halls of Fame. He also was a member of the 1952 Jayhawks NCAA championship team and won a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics as a reserve.
Survivors include 2 sons, Lawrence Dean, Kyle
D. and 2 daughters, Laura L. Dempsey, Alison L. Davenport, a
stepson Kevin and stepdaughter Gina; five grandchildren and 11
great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents,
Fred and Mary and a sister, Wilma Kliewer.
He was buried at the Fort Leavenworth
National Cemetery.
Dad's portfolio for his time in the city by the bay (1977-1981). "THERE'S A NEW BRUSH IN TOWN..."
Larry moved back to Denver in 1981, and built his dream home on top a mountain outside Evergreen, CO in 1985. I notice in this period - like his own house - an emphasis on the house's environment. Also, I see less "photo-realism" and more brushwork.
Approaching retirement, Larry became nostalgic for his hometown of Newton, KS. He made a series of paintings honoring Newton's past which are on display there. Here are small photos of 3 of them.
Many years after dad passed away I noticed in the stone house painting above a very detailed picture window. So with some extreme photo retouching, I have generated a mural as if that's what dad was imagining when he painted that.
