Featured Artist David White

Artist David White presents a collection of meticulously detailed pencil drawings of landscapes and nautical scenes. Visit his website to learn more.

 

 

The closest I’ve come to formal art training is when I was invited to join an art club in Grand Rapids, Michigan called Grand Valley Artists. We met once-a-week in the basement of a local church. Each week had a different format: life drawing class, character drawing class, critique session of members work, and guest speaker night.

 

 

I was a member for five years, then life and work intervened. For the next 25 years my work bounced me around the world building refrigerator and air conditioning factories and writing technical assistance and trademark contracts.

 

 

Finally, at 65, I retired and my time was my own. And so there was golf. And more golf. Until I realized I should be doing something more constructive with my remaining years. Art. Ha. I wonder if there is anything left to re-awake.

 

 

Simple drawings to start…salt and pepper shakers, a pair of running shoes. Then pen and ink drawings and scratchboard, followed by acrylic paintings. One thing that quickly became apparent was my freehand drawing skills produced nothing I was happy with. But at my age I felt a sense of urgency, and moved on to use various methods to get an accurate sketch to work with.

 

 

I’m still deeply torn with the idea that true art must begin with freehand drawing. But I don’t want to take the time now to develop the skill I may have little talent for. I want accuracy, and regardless, an outline or sketch is only the beginning, a foundation. The real work follows and the result will speak for itself.

 

 

After considerable time spent searching and challenging myself with different subjects and style and color and technique, I’ve come to realize that my real passion is simply black and white pencil drawings.

 

 

That small pencil point has to cover a lot of ground. And it is demanding and tedious. But as the shapes and values emerge from the paper, it becomes more and more satisfying. And because the foundation is accurate, the result is totally recognizable, and with some artistic license, even better than the source.

 

 

I still bounce around with subject matter. I want the challenge of what each different subject presents. A face, a landscape, a mountain…all need their own special way of how the graphite is applied.

 

David White invites you to follow on Instagram.

 

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