"...It is as if the artist has created his own mythology. It is a very romantic, evocative painting, technically well balanced and very strong, formally"- Lucinda Barnes, curator of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art commenting on the painting "Journey"
Biography
Douglas was born in California but only spent 18 months there before his family moved to Africa. When he was seventeen he flew by himself to California to attend Chapman College. A year later he was accepted into Art Center College of Design where he was able to study with Burne Hogarth, Richard Bunkall, Dan McCaw, and Steve Huston. He graduated with a BFA with Distinction in Illustration.
In 1993 he and his wife decided to drive to Alaska. He felt he was losing himself in the contemporary art movements of Los Angeles and wanted to find a way of painting that was more true to himself.
Ten years after graduating he realized that he needed to unlearn many things he had learned in college. College had given him some bad painting habits that were getting in the way of him communicating what he wanted. “ I struggled for a long time to find myself...to find what was truly my own.” He resolved to enter a period of self-learning. He studied the art and methods of the old masters especially the Venetians, the Pre-Raphaelites, the Symbolists, and Odd Nerdrum. Using a modified Venetian technique he learned how to build a painting in layers that gives the painting greater depth.
"Skill and technique must always be the slave of meaning. The great thing about painting is that it is a never-ending intellectual struggle to always learn and improve, but without meaning, without an inner spirit, a painting is nothing."
His work can be found in many national and international collections.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiogirard/
Artist Statement
The crisis of our times, as I see it, has been the desacralization of the earth. The massive destructive, unrelenting machine of modernity treats the earth and humans as commodities: how efficient can they be exploited, used up, and thrown away. Everything is temporary and constantly changing in the endless drive for more profits. My paintings focus on ideas opposite to these. Man must be seen as an integral part of the earth, living in harmony with its laws. The landscape and humankind both have a spiritual meaning beyond their materialistic forms. I believe in a spiritual outlook that sees the earth as sacred and rejoicing in its beauty as a religious act. The permanence of the endless cycles of nature is to be acknowledged and respected.
For years I have been exploring and painting the mountains near my home. I have been seeking those moments of ecstatic drama, mystery, and the sublime that nature provides for the inquisitive. My landscape paintings try to capture those moments. I am excited by movement as the expression of the life force. The swirling of clouds and a dancer are excellent expressions of this force. My paintings intend to combine the landscape and figure in a cohesive synthesis of movement and emotion so that the figure and landscape are one, both complimenting each other.
One of the central ideas of my work is that of the sacred and the seeker of the sacred. The hallowing of the land is symbolized by ritual structures that are in harmony with the surrounding landscape. The female subject of many of my paintings represents the pilgrim on a spiritual quest. Together with the mist, the shadows of the trees, and the mountains, the sacred will be found and nourished.
Selected Shows
2018: Group Show, Robby King Gallery, WA
2017: Group Show, Robby King Gallery, WA
2016: Duo Show, Artique, Anchorage, AK
2015: Duo Show, Artique, Anchorage, AK
2013: Group Show, International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, AK
2012: Solo Show. Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2012: Group Show. Alaska Art for the Parks, Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2011: Solo Show. Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2010: Solo Show. Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2009: Group Show. Palmer Museum of History and Art , Palmer, AK
2009: Group Show. Alaska Art for the Parks, Paint Spot Gallery, Anchorage, AK
2008: Group Show. Alaska Art for the Parks, Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2007: Duo Show. Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2007: Group Show. Alaska Art for the Parks, Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage, AK
2000: Solo show. Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, AK
2000: Group Show. Blaines, Wasilla, AK
1999: Group Show. Decker Morris Gallery, Anchorage, AK
1998: Solo show. Decker Morris Gallery, Anchorage, AK
1998: All Alaska Juried Art Exhibition, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, AK
1995: Group Show. Gallery of the Lakes, Big Lake, AK
1995: All Alaska Juried Art Exhibition, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, AK
Awards
2016: “Alignment” is a finalist in the International Art Renewal Center’s 2016 Salon.
2015: “Awakening” and “Procession” are finalists in the International Art Renewal Center’s 2014/2015 Salon
2012: Recognized by the Palmer Arts Council as the Outstanding Artist of the Year at their annual dinner.
2011: Alaska Art For the Parks, “Best of Show”
2010: The Alaska State Council on the Arts selected the painting " The Land beyond the Red Tundra" for purchase for The Alaska Contemporary Art Bank.
2009: Palmer Museum Purchase Award through a grant from Rasmuson Art Acquisition Fund. For the Painting ”Palmer Farm”
2008: Alaska Art For the Parks, “Best of Show” and “Peers Choice” Awards.
2007: Palmer Museum Purchase Award through a grant from Rasmuson Art Acquisition Fund. For the Painting ”Seeking the Light”
2007:Alaska Art For the Parks, “Best Figure” Award.1998:All Alaska Juried Art Exhibition, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage. Award for the painting “Journey”.
1998: All Alaska Juried Art Exhibition, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage.
Award for the painting “Journey” which was published in the museum catalog.
Publications
2016: Painting “Procession” featured in February issue of Fine Art Connoisseur
2016: Art Renewal Center’s Salon Catalog
2015: Art Renewal Center’s Salon Catalog
1998: Anchorage Museum of History and Art Exhibition Catalog