Today we’d like to introduce you to David Palmer.
David, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in a small town in upstate New York, surrounded by farmland. I’ve been painting my whole life, and all my education is in art. When I finished graduate school in Massachusetts, I packed all my paintings into an old Toyota Corolla station wagon and drove across the country to Los Angeles, and I’ve lived here ever since.
My work has been shown in galleries and museums across the US and appears in numerous public and private collections. I’ve also created digital effects for over a dozen Hollywood films, including the X-Files, Spider-Man 3, and the first Harry Potter movie.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My paintings combine the vocabulary of Pop Art with an Italian Renaissance sensibility. Their surfaces reveal patches of underlying color, reminiscent of aging frescoes and peeling billboards.
When I start a painting, I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like when it’s finished. I start with an idea, but at some point, the painting takes on a life of its own. I continually discover the image as I work on it. It’s like having a conversation or taking a walk in a new neighborhood.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
One of the great things today is that between the web, social media, and smartphones, artists have more tools than ever to connect directly with an audience without the permission of traditional gatekeepers like galleries and curators. But it’s also important to get your work out in the real world and to meet people in person. I make sure to combine art fairs and other exhibitions with an active online presence. It’s an enormous amount of work, but it’s worth it!
Los Angeles has become one of the major art capitals of the world, and there’s an amazing creative community here. I’m not sure what the city itself should be doing, but there’s a lot going on here already!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I live in Los Angeles, and I travel to art fairs around the country showing my paintings. Over the next few months, I’m exhibiting in Chicago, Milwaukee, Park City and Portland. I also have a couple of shows coming up here in Los Angeles. The best way to see what I’m doing is to visit the Events page of my website:
davidpalmerstudio.com/schedule.html
You can also sign up on my website for my occasional newsletter that I send out a few times a year.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.davidpalmerstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidpalmerstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/David-Palmer-Studio-201369952781/
Image Credit:
Photo of the artist by Jude Lutz
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