David James Strain
Contemporary Artist, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture
I’ve been creating art with focus and purpose since the day I enrolled in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Texas in San Antonio. It was there that I was introduced to different mediums and processes and became consumed with a determination to create. Photography opened my eyes to composition, printmaking introduced me to combining mediums and processes, while painting and drawing expanded my perceptions of form and color. After graduation I began to draw on paper exclusively. This was the most conducive art form to my lifestyle at that time without the studio equipment, large working spaces, and the energy of the educational environment. Drawing allowed me to be as precise and calculated as I wanted to be. There is a permanency and finality to drawing in ink that encouraged me to build a steady hand and fierce concentration. In those years I created three main series of drawings titled:
The Building Up Series, Fractured and Congestion, and De-construction. These segued into large wooden sculptural pieces and acrylic painting.
The Building Up Series was my first collection of black and white drawings on paper that explored straight edge line work. The first set of drawings within the series show an extremely dense futuristic cityscape that is visually claustrophobic and perhaps represents an overpopulated environment. Each individual “building” has its own unique personality that gives immense variety within the pieces. The second set of drawings in this series, which I have titled Reflections, shows a bird’s eye view of these cityscapes. Precision and symmetry marry to create a topographical scene that has been described to me before as architectural or resembling mechanical landscapes.
The Building Up Series then transitioned to a set of drawings I titled, Fractured and Congestion. The Fractured drawings are an abstraction of my overpopulated buildings and cityscapes, whereas the Congestion drawings are an abstraction of my topographical Reflections set. These hard edged abstractions show a chaotic break down of the controlled cityscapes. Order and organization are still visible, but the addition of diagonal lines intensifies movement within the pieces.
The next series of drawings titled, De-construction, are larger scale abstractions where the scene begins to explore negative space. This series segues into exploring abstractions that combine floating or suspended forms with clinging attachments. Forms appear to release, move, and breakaway from their environments and origins. The De-construction series then transitions to a set of drawings I refer to as, Re-construction. The Re-construction drawings begin to resemble futuristic landscapes that display a connection between recognizable natural forms and technological machine like forms.
My artwork then transitioned to 3D hanging wall sculptures. I hand built my own wooden supports, then assembled, glued, and painted wooden pieces to the backdrop to resemble ideas and concepts from my Building Up drawings. A black and white straight lined theme is continued, but the forms are stacked creating physical dimension. The titles, Ascension and Expansion, communicate my growth and exploration into a new process of physical expression.
My work then transitioned to incorporate color through the use of acrylic paint and I’ve continued to hand build my own wooden supports/panels. These paintings similarly use straight edge forms, but now they coexist with organic shapes, and color circumnavigates the composition to create visual balance. These paintings are treated with the same care and precision on both the fronts and the backs. The backs are hand painted with a title and signature. The titles are created by abstracting the work itself, using the idea of creating a micro version/composition that visually communicates with the work. English language titles are also given to help distinguish each piece from the next and to help establish a deeper relationship and connection with the viewer.
My current work explores free hand drawing onto hand constructed wooden panels. These drawings are then digitized where I can experiment with color until I am satisfied and ready to mix and apply paint. These current abstractions have been characterized and described as landscapes and cityscapes with approaching recognizable forms. Each painting takes upwards of 100 hours. They are crafted with painstaking detail and care.
My life has taken many twists and turns since receiving my Bachelors in Fine Arts. I’ve worked on an offshore drilling rig, entered the corporate realm, and now own a hair salon with my wife while we raise our only daughter. I’ve been a creator through it all and my drive to pursue my artistic endeavors has never wavered. I am grateful to have a home studio where I spend many hours perfecting my pieces while also being only a room away from my family and also a current career that allows me the gift of time to pursue my creativity. The Building Up series, Fractured and Congestion drawings and De-construction/Re-construction have built the foundation from which I now construct my art.
The Building Up Series, Fractured and Congestion, and De-construction. These segued into large wooden sculptural pieces and acrylic painting.
The Building Up Series was my first collection of black and white drawings on paper that explored straight edge line work. The first set of drawings within the series show an extremely dense futuristic cityscape that is visually claustrophobic and perhaps represents an overpopulated environment. Each individual “building” has its own unique personality that gives immense variety within the pieces. The second set of drawings in this series, which I have titled Reflections, shows a bird’s eye view of these cityscapes. Precision and symmetry marry to create a topographical scene that has been described to me before as architectural or resembling mechanical landscapes.
The Building Up Series then transitioned to a set of drawings I titled, Fractured and Congestion. The Fractured drawings are an abstraction of my overpopulated buildings and cityscapes, whereas the Congestion drawings are an abstraction of my topographical Reflections set. These hard edged abstractions show a chaotic break down of the controlled cityscapes. Order and organization are still visible, but the addition of diagonal lines intensifies movement within the pieces.
The next series of drawings titled, De-construction, are larger scale abstractions where the scene begins to explore negative space. This series segues into exploring abstractions that combine floating or suspended forms with clinging attachments. Forms appear to release, move, and breakaway from their environments and origins. The De-construction series then transitions to a set of drawings I refer to as, Re-construction. The Re-construction drawings begin to resemble futuristic landscapes that display a connection between recognizable natural forms and technological machine like forms.
My artwork then transitioned to 3D hanging wall sculptures. I hand built my own wooden supports, then assembled, glued, and painted wooden pieces to the backdrop to resemble ideas and concepts from my Building Up drawings. A black and white straight lined theme is continued, but the forms are stacked creating physical dimension. The titles, Ascension and Expansion, communicate my growth and exploration into a new process of physical expression.
My work then transitioned to incorporate color through the use of acrylic paint and I’ve continued to hand build my own wooden supports/panels. These paintings similarly use straight edge forms, but now they coexist with organic shapes, and color circumnavigates the composition to create visual balance. These paintings are treated with the same care and precision on both the fronts and the backs. The backs are hand painted with a title and signature. The titles are created by abstracting the work itself, using the idea of creating a micro version/composition that visually communicates with the work. English language titles are also given to help distinguish each piece from the next and to help establish a deeper relationship and connection with the viewer.
My current work explores free hand drawing onto hand constructed wooden panels. These drawings are then digitized where I can experiment with color until I am satisfied and ready to mix and apply paint. These current abstractions have been characterized and described as landscapes and cityscapes with approaching recognizable forms. Each painting takes upwards of 100 hours. They are crafted with painstaking detail and care.
My life has taken many twists and turns since receiving my Bachelors in Fine Arts. I’ve worked on an offshore drilling rig, entered the corporate realm, and now own a hair salon with my wife while we raise our only daughter. I’ve been a creator through it all and my drive to pursue my artistic endeavors has never wavered. I am grateful to have a home studio where I spend many hours perfecting my pieces while also being only a room away from my family and also a current career that allows me the gift of time to pursue my creativity. The Building Up series, Fractured and Congestion drawings and De-construction/Re-construction have built the foundation from which I now construct my art.
