David McKee - Biography

Biography

I was born and raised in eastern Oklahoma and earned my BFA from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. After living in Los Angeles for a few years I moved to upstate New York. There was a lapse in my work as a painter for a few years due to a personal tragedy during which I started taking photographs and I worked in graphic design and advertising/marketing. My wife and son and I then moved to Albuquerque. A few years ago, painting, my muse, the thing that I am most passionate about, was ready for me to return. Since I have been back to painting, I have shown in numerous galleries in Albuquerque, including Santa Fe, Taos, and the Denver area.

Artist Statement

Each painting has a life of its own and has an aspect of life ingrained into it. I create my paintings by layering acrylic, cold wax, spray paint, art crayons, charcoal, and sometimes incorporate torn sections of photographs or various types of papers in creating my work. Combining these materials in a mixed media collage creates something that I am truly inspired by. My intention in these pieces is to portray reflection onto the canvas of the studies and theories of chaos and order, and the fragments of my memories and imagination.

I am fascinated with texture and surface manipulation; through this I work to create a sense of space and dimension by building layer upon layer using palimpsest. I believe this process has allowed my paintings to become more organic in nature. My work continues to evolve. Palimpsest is defined as “something having diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface, something altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.”

Painting is a lifelong pursuit. I begin my painting by writing with charcoal on the canvas a few words, observations, hopes, dreams, or regrets that I have. With a very loose framework of the image in heart and by noting compositional elements, I begin to draw on the canvas with charcoal and water-soluble art crayons, then apply paint. At this point, I do automatic drawing across the canvas. I smudge those areas with cold wax and apply more paint, and where there are large areas of color, I spray water on the canvas to create paint runs and drips. I then step back to give thought to the piece and to have a silent dialogue with the painting. I do not want to impose my will onto the canvas but instead, reflect and respond to what is in front of me. I tear out portions of printed photographs or insert different papers and affix them to the canvas, then I begin to construct the image while allowing myself enough room for those “ah-ha” moments that I believe are so important when painting. Then I start the whole process all over again.