I met David when I
was a senior in High School, 1969. He did a little volunteer work with our art
department designing sets with us for a play or something. He was all wild hair
and pipe and had the most inquisitive nature of anyone I had ever met. Like a
cat silently watching and playing at everything. So began Adventures with
David! I had asked him if he would teach me to paint and he said that he
didn't teach but that I could come and paint with him whenever I liked.
Over the next few years, when I wasn't at art school I would hang out and paint
with him, every opportunity I could get. Also,on our breaks from school,
a bunch of friends would join the drawing group which was a highlight for us to
be with the pros! Often we would bring the model with us!
Our time together was
spent in a process of "see what happens." He would set up two
of everything. two easels, two palettes with paint, brushes and spray bottles and we
would paint together. Sometimes he would paint me and sometimes I would paint
him. We would apply some colors to a fresh board, add some spray and sit back
and see what happened as the color played and moved within itself, as the
creation came to life!
In the art of allowing, images would reveal themselves, grow and change, and he would allow the creative elements to come to life! David never made an image conform to his will. He was as if in partnership with his subject and media and always allowed the paintings to grow naturally. He truly lived from his heart.
In the art of allowing, images would reveal themselves, grow and change, and he would allow the creative elements to come to life! David never made an image conform to his will. He was as if in partnership with his subject and media and always allowed the paintings to grow naturally. He truly lived from his heart.
David and I would take
field trips often, into Nature.We would spend an afternoon sitting on rocks in
the river, listening as the water tumbled over the rocks, and watching as the
light danced on the water. It was living music! We spoke little and just
opened to what Nature was showing us. Thoughts just disappeared. We absorbed
it all and when we were back in the studio, the magic would pour forth.
From my perspective,
everything about David's life was self-discovery. Whether he was painting or
making music or writing poetry, it was a deep and joyous expression of his
Artist Spirit.
