NEWS
Thanks to everyone for your
heartfelt comments at artistaday.com
Select works now available
at these fine galleries
Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery
New York
www.markelfinearts.com
Aberson Exhibits Gallery
Tulsa
abersonexhibits.com
SFMOMA Artists Gallery
San Francisco
We are pleased to announce:
Don Scott Macdonald: Winner, Pacific Coast Competition,
New American Paintings issue #73.
www.newamericanpaintings.com
To sign up for future show announcements email info@donsart.com
REPRESENTATION
Please see above venues
STATEMENT
My paintings are composed from an accumulation of observations and dreams. Rather than recreating details of a static landscape on canvas, I attempt to distill its essence, believing that simplicity is elegant and powerful. The paintings explore the juxtapositions of stillness with movement, of representation with abstraction, and of the earth with the ethereal. I feel an affinity with the metaphysical content in paintings by Bierstadt, Richter, Frankenthaler and Rothko. Like these champions, I aim to create spaciousness that extends beyond the limits of the canvas. Overall, I hope my paintings convey something about who we are and what we feel — a balance of mystery and beauty, darkness and hope.
Artistic Process: People, usually painters, will sometimes ask about the technical stuff. Each painting is comprised of thousands of brushstrokes…but no mechanical tools are used (airbrushes, paint sprayers, etc). So, completing the larger paintings takes several weeks or months. I’m using a classic oil technique of layering-on numerous thin glazes, allowing each to dry before the next is applied. The technique is time-consuming, but creates depth and glow. The surface preparation of linen, wood, or aluminum panel consists of several layers of resin or gesso, each sanded by hand to achieve a smooth, eggshell surface. The visual inspiration for many of my images begins from time spent in nature, as well as motorcycling, hanggliding and fly fishing. In the studio, I’ll sketch and note the essence of those experiences. The sketches are developed and then given life on canvas. I’m continually exploring how little representation is needed to capture an experience.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITION LIST
2010 St Supéry, Contemporary Art Gallery, St. Helena, CA
2009 Foundry Corporate Gallery, 500 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA
2009 ‘Peripheral Vision’ Lobby Gallery, 201 California Street, San Francisco, CA
2009 St Supéry, Contemporary Art Gallery, Napa, CA
2009 ‘Past/Present’ Palette Art Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
2008 ‘Peripheral Vision’ 455 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
2008 Gary Farrell Winery, Healdsburg, CA
2007 The Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford, CA
2006 M.Gabriel Gallery, Sonoma, CA
2005 Gallery at the Geary, Union Square, San Francisco, CA
2005 ‘Passing Through’ Wildwood Gallery, St. Petersburg, Florida
2004 Ross Valley Gallery, San Anselmo, CA
1982 ‘Road Trips’ LA Eyeworks, Los Angeles, CA
1982 First Interstate Bank, Los Angeles, California
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITION LIST
2011 ‘Illusion of Life’ Kathryn Markel Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Boston Art, Boston, MA
2008 Palette Art Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
2007 dba256 Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2007 Arches Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
2006 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Cohen-Rese Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 Benefit, Giant Steps, Rohnert Park, CA
2005 Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, San Anselmo, CA
2005 ‘An Artist’s View’, Petaluma Museum, Petaluma, CA
2004 Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, San Anselmo, CA
2004 Marin Art Exhibition, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, CA
1983 ‘Four New Directions’, Strategic Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1983 Los Angeles International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
1982 “The New Landscape” First Interstate Bank, Los Angeles, CA
1980 Bell Memorial Union Gallery, California State University, Chico, CA
1980 BFA Art Exhibition, Best of Show: Painting, California State University, Chico, CA
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Corporate Collections:
Bank of Marin, Sonoma, CA
Aparna Architects, Singapore
Halperin & Christ Architects, San Anselmo, CA
First Interstate Bank Corporation, Los Angeles, CA
High Plains Wind Energy, Spearfish, ID
I.R.S. Records, Los Angeles, CA
Progressive Properties, Los Angeles, CA
Individual Collections:
Martin and Angela Wentzlik, Germany
David Hockney, Carrie Fisher, Davey Johnstone (Elton John band), Chrissie Hynde
EDUCATION
The Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, CA
California State University, Chico, CA
Born 1955 in San Francisco