Derek Davis. Nice painting, eh? The light in Lone Tree is spectacular – I’m telling you, you must check out this guys website!

This is the painting that caught my eye… I was perusing Facebook… and came upon this! I love these trees, and this sky… LOVE IT! The clouds just grab you and pull you right in… Very nice indeed!

Read more about Derek on his website:

Derek Davis is a second generation artist for which painting is a process of self discovery and a means of expressing appreciation of the world around him. Searching for the poetry of the moment and reaching to express that with paint is sincerely gratifying and challenging to Derek. Although self taught, he has learned from many artists including his parents, Rink and Marilyn, and other artists such as Orlin Helgoe, Ivan Morrison, Leroy Greene, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, Jeanne Dobie, Edgar Whitney, Edgar Payne, Richard Schmid, Tony Couch, Skip Lawrence, Charles Reid, Betty Edwards, Ted Goerschner, Robert Henri, Nicolai Fechin and Francis Lee Jaques.

  As a child in his father’s studio, Derek was exposed to a variety of art and artists. Later in life, his mother’s forays outside with an easel at her side showed him about the possibility of outdoor painting. These influences and his brother Brett introducing him to the wonder of the outdoors combined to direct his lifes choices.  At the age of nineteen, Derek decided to learn to draw and paint.

   While working and raising a family and with books as his constant companions, Derek spent 25 years developing his drawing and then painting skills. He was joyfully oblivious to the existing commercial art world and worked diligantly in private to grow as an artist.  He worked in the traditional manner of sketching from life and painting from these sketches in the studio. During this “school” period, Derek was able to study the intricasies of painting including design, composition and color usage.

    “with every piece I continue to learn, with humility I push paint and with every step I am learning to value the process of creating and understanding ‘ becoming an artist ‘ is a journey and not a destination.” 

In 2007, he decided it was time to begin to quietly emerge from this self imposed time of learning.

  On a chance encounter during his first showing of works, he met Joe Paquet. This encounter and the conversations that would follow led to Derek choosing to focus on painting on location outdoors or”enpleinaire”. Still having occasional studio time for larger works, figure/portrait painting and still-lifes, Derek finds the challenges and joys of outdoor painting to be an exhilirating painting experience.     

     “I feel there is something about being outside that’s good for the inside of a person…”                                                                                                                                                                                            

Derek paints primarily in oil or watercolor from life and is an active teacher at his studio in St. Paul, Mn. as well as workshops abroad. Derek Davis is a former president and member of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota as well as a member of the American Impressionist Society.

 IMAGES VIA DerekDavisStudio.com and “Derek Davis” Facebook with permission from the artist.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

F L A S H B A C K !

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T h r e e  Y e a r s  A g o:      Time to change your clocks! (2011)