Known early in his career for his large and vibrant monoprints and as a fine art lithographer, Don has been working as an artist for twenty years. Born in Phoenix Arizona in 1961 he grew up on the outskirts of the city amidst the contrasting desert and farmlands. He attended Arizona State University and then Abilene Christian University, where he received a BFA in painting and printmaking.
Don’s work has always had a strong sense of place, influenced by the color and landscape shapes from where he lived and traveled, from the southern states to Arizona, California and Oregon, They all have offered him a unique perspective on the patterns and contours of the earth. “The natural blending of overlying colors-a spark of a distant light or figure, the fading line of a horizon-are all landscape elements that give me the ideas, the germinal moment for work. Be it a landscape or an abstract.
In recent years painting in “plein air” has proved to be a strong influence in his work. “It has provided me with new tools I can bring to my studio work. It doesn’t matter if it is a landscape from a field sketch, photo or memory even in the abstract work, it gives me a different a fresh eye on color and composition”
“Art has always been for me a form of communication. The technique the skill and process are part of the vocabulary an artist uses. The result of a successful work is an artful dialogue that will stand the test of time.”
