Denver artist Clyde Steadman is painting works for his solo show slotted for spring of 2025. Steadman’s Denver studio claims the living room of a Victorian house in the Baker neighborhood. He shares the home with his wife, Susie Steadman —who works for PBS Channel 12 — and their calico cat, Pepper Pod. Steadman’s living room studio seems appropriate because for him, living is artful.

“There’s the question, ‘What do you live for?’ I find worthwhile things in everyday life,” said Steadman. “The things I paint are ordinary things I treat as if they are important. Often, I want to say ‘serious,’ but I might be painting a rubber duck in a wine glass or Bounty paper towels with a loaf of Wonder Bread. The ordinary stuff of life can be appreciated and is worthwhile to appreciate.”

The stuff of Steadman’s life for the past 15 years has included September as back- to-school month when he resumes his role as art instructor at the Art Students League of Denver. Steadman teaches beginning painting at the artistic institution founded in 1987 and housed in the historic 1893 Sherman School, a landmark at 200 Grant St.

“Denver is a remarkable arts town,” Steadman said. “When I go to the Art Students League, I’m in a group of people who care a good deal about the things I care about, like the difference between the colors burnt sienna and transparent red oxide.”

And while he admitted the cost of living is high in Denver, he said, “Not compared to other art centers: New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco.”

In addition to his classes at the Art Students League of Denver, Steadman also teaches online advanced classes in painting landscapes, still life works or the human figure — all subject matter in his expansive artistic wheelhouse.

“I don’t paint anything I don’t love,” said Steadman over a perfectly brewed cup of coffee he served in handsome hand-thrown ceramic mugs he made at the Art Students League.

“One of the benefits of teaching at the Art Students League is that you get to take free classes,” he said. “I think one of the most wonderful things in life is having coffee in the morning.”

He continued: “Like most people in Colorado, I love to walk along the mountain streams and look at the mountains and say ‘There’s a llama. Are those deer or elk?’ Not that they’re more important than the glories of a cup of coffee and a fresh scone.”

The fresh painting on his easel depicts a landscape with cows. On his easel, he has scrawled an indelible question to himself: “Will you be proud of this painting?”

“Painting is a nonverbal language, but I can’t control how people respond,” Steadman said. “I see cows in a large meadow with plenty of space to graze. Others see cows a few months from going to slaughter.”

Steadman sees a lot of art online, he said. He regularly posts time-lapse process videos on his Instagram account. His impasto pictures feature lots of paint and dynamic strokes from his brushes or palette knives.

“The physical part of the painting should be interesting and expressive,” Steadman said. “I call myself an Abstract Realist because nobody knows what it means. I don’t want to say I’m an Impressionist because I don’t want to give you a filter to see art. I want you confront my art on your own.”

In April 2025, visitors can confront Steadman’s art at his solo show exhibited at Lovett’s Gallery in Tulsa, Okla. Of Steadman’s work, gallery owner Jack Summers said: “It was his use of common objects that caught my eye — things that are overlooked in life by most. I always look for something different in an artist’s work. Clyde’s use of paint, in color and texture, also stood out. Almost abstract, but not.”

In Denver, Abend Gallery, established in 1990, represents Steadman. Gallery owner Chris Mileham said: “We have proudly represented Clyde Steadman for over 15 years. His exceptional versatility and talent are evident in his striking figures, landscapes and still-life work.”

Though Steadman’s figures and landscapes tend to sell better, he said: “In some sense, the still-life is the most pure. I’m in charge of everything. Everything stays the same. Cows don’t move. Light stays the same. I don’t have any sort of compositional restraints. Still-life painting uses my most complete set of skills and takes the most of me. The work is incredibly satisfying.”

The artist admitted that his first painting at age 30 made him both humble at his beginning and proud of his progress. It’s no stretch to say that Steadman is an intellectual. His father taught mathematics and Greek at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, where Steadman was born and raised. The younger Steadman learned to sight-read the New Testament in Greek and studied math and philosophy. His conversation meanders from Jimi Hendrix to Goethe’s Faust to Soren Kierkegaard.

Since Steadman arrived at his artistry later in life, completing his first painting at age 30, he didn’t connect with the famous New Mexican art scene. He moved to Denver in 1989 and finds ample artistic stimulation here.

“Sometimes we go to First Friday on Santa Fe just blocks away, and it’s artists supporting artists,” he said. “I like going to coffee shops and drawing people.”

Steadman studied with celebrated local painters Daniel Sprick and Quang Ho and regularly participates in a figure-drawing group that meets in Sprick’s studio.

“We sit there and look at a model and draw or paint, and it’s a community that has been together maybe 20 years,” Steadman said.

“The reason Denver has such a wonderful art scene is that people support artists. They buy art on Santa Fe or in coffee shops. People are connected to art — and it doesn’t have to be a painting. It can be going to the theater and seeing a performance, going out to see a band — supporting people who are living the artistic life,” said Steadman, who keeps an electric guitar opposite his easel. “Our community is enriched by having [singer-songwriter] Nathaniel Rateliff and all the artists.”

For more about the artist, visit clydesteadman.com or @clyde.steadman on Instagram.