Lynn Myers never left the color red out of one of her paintings because she “saw her world in red,” said her daughter, Cynthia Glenn of Highlands Ranch.
In fact, on Myers’ 70th birthday, friends gave her a tiara, crowning her the “Empress of Red,” said longtime friend Steve Spellman of Winter Park and Taos.
Myers, who lived in Golden, died at Porter Hospice in Centennial on Jan. 12 of heart and lung problems. She was 74.
A service is planned for 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Foothills Art Center, 809 15th St., Golden.
Some of her work will be shown in April at Evergreen Fine Arts, 3042 Evergreen Parkway.
Myers started seriously painting after rearing her daughters, going through a divorce, teaching school and working at such places as hotel gift shops.
She wasn’t confident about her abilities, but after listening to self-help tapes and taking art classes, “she was able to walk through that fear of marketing her product,” said Glenn.
Eventually, she made a career as a Southwest landscape oil artist and a knitter.
At one time, she had paintings on display in Taos, Georgetown, Denver, Boulder and Breckenridge. The current Golden phone book has her painting of Golden Gate Canyon on the cover.
She made an annual month-long trip to Taos to paint and often invited friends down for short visits. “But she worked hard, and when I went down, I stayed only a few days,” said longtime friend Laurie Smith of Lake Forest, Calif.
“When Lynn decided to do something, she did it,” said Smith. “She was very serious.”
Myers was a mentor to many artists, almost nagging them if they didn’t “call a gallery” and try to get their work on display, said Spellman, who had taken classes from Myers.
“She was a formidable person and had a voice like Eve Arden,” said Spellman, a reference to the actress who played Principal McGee in the movie “Grease.”
“Lynn showed great authority, even if she didn’t always know exactly what she was talking about,” said Spellman with a laugh.
Myers once told Spellman: “If you’re not shooting for the top of the staircase, then don’t start.”
Before Spellman’s first show, Myers — understanding his nervousness — told him: “We spend our whole lives keeping our emotions and egos under control, and we come to a point like this and turn into a bunch of ninnies.”
Myers was as dedicated to friends as her art. She, Smith and six other women maintained a friendship from the fourth grade through their 70s, though the women are scattered over five states, said Smith, who is a bronze sculptor. With Myers’ death, five are left.
Lynn Rowan was born in Phoenix on Aug. 6, 1933, and was reared in Palo Alto and Carmel, Calif. She spent a year in Switzerland, skiing and learning French; lived briefly in Hawaii; and then earned an education degree at the University of Utah.
After two years of teaching, she married Richard Myers. During her marriage, she dabbled in art, Glenn said. Later she knitted, and many of her sweaters were sold in Aspen and Vail stores.
In addition to her daughter, Myers is survived by another daughter, Julie Pierce, Aurora; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and her brother, John Rowan of Palo Alto.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
