David has lived and worked in Hawaii for several years. His bond with nature and its life giving forces was forged and strengthened throughout his childhood. He developed a fascination with the metamorphosis of growth and the manifestation of the life cycles of nature that he deeply sensed from an early age were an essential component of life and creativity. It was on these nature walks that he began to realize that the change and metamorphosis that enveloped him embodied the life giving forces of nature and were the essence of the life enhancing process of creativity. David says, “I was particularly enthralled by the metamorphosis of the frog: egg, to tadpole, to frog. I would see a cluster of eggs clinging to the base of a reed then see the tadpoles swimming around, some had feet and legs, on others they hadn’t developed yet so they looked like little fish, others had long tail and some had just stumps. Then I’d see a frog hopping on dry land or a set of frog eyes looking at me from just above the waterline. To my boy's mind my small world was magnificent and grand.” Now, when David paints plein air landscapes and his abstract paintings he is reconnecting with the riches of nature and his childhood self. In his abstract paintings the constant flux and movement of shapes, line and color is a metaphor for metamorphosis that embodies the organic processes of growth and the vibrancy of the changes in nature. The imagination is a living garden of possibility and awareness.
These childhood impressions of nature began to manifest in the form of art when David was around 10 years old. David explains, “I was trying to understand from a very early age the abstract language of visual creativity. How to express on paper or canvas my thoughts and feelings of human existence that bubbled up in my mind while on my walks through the woods and by the streams of my childhood”. In the forest a magnificent pine tree begins life’s journey humbly as a small seed. David continues, “ In my soul the creative seed had been planted. It was my mind and spirit that had to figure out how to nurture it and make it grow into a tree”.
David matriculated at Bowdoin College and attended the New York Studio School in New York City. Needless to say these were critically important formative years. “My world had expanded. I realized that there were a lot of people that shared my ambitions of learning how to make strong and meaningful paintings.” he reflects. There was an overwhelming amount of knowledge and skill that had to be synthesized, developed and refined. “A lot of work needed to be done so, I thought, I’d better keep driving my brushes hard and start covering miles of canvas with paint. I also thought it would be a good idea if I brought a hard hat along for the ride just incase. I'm glad I did. There were plenty of bumps in the road and potholes to steer clear of” David jokes.
David lived and worked in New York City for 20 years
David expresses, “The natural beauty of Hawai’i is profound. The culture is rich and robust. It’s an amazing place. It is my humble honor as an artist to create paintings, and share them with others, that express my passion for painting, my love of nature and Hawai’i.”