Denny Lubecke

One of the wonderful things about working with volunteers is that you have this vast community to draw upon. These people become your close friends. Denny is interesting mix of painter, artist, and inventor. Working in my job, there were many challenges in painting techniques. Denny had the experience of being a fauve painter for over 30 years, which came in handy.

There was never a time that Denny turned me down when I asked him to help me come up with a technique that would be unique to our stage. Often Denny would arrive with a new invention that he’d come up with to make our job easier. Over time there were so many interesting effects he had invented, we had to add a class to the Arts conference to share them all. Many times I have been overwhelmed by the concerns of painting the set. This is when Denny has been a gift with his problem solving abilities.

Denny has encouraged me to try Plein Air painting outdoors. To get me going he built me a cool painters box on a tripod to hold oil paints. We have often gone out on Thursday’s to find things to paint outdoors. It has been my favorite day of the week.

Who Denny is can be summed up in a word: servant. He couldn’t possibly stop creating, inventing, or constructing things to help other people. When I put a wood burning stove in my house I mentioned that 14” wood length is the perfect fit for the little stove. Denny has endlessly brought me 14” piles of wood. I have stacked up enough so that I am without worries of making through next winter.

Can you imagine what it’s like to walk through life with a friend who’s there ready to serve you in any way? The way Jesus did?