David and Lisbeth Gage
I cannot remember a time when I wasn't driven to create art. I started drawing portraits when I was 9 years old and had drawn the portrait of every U.S. president by the time I was 10. I drew my teachers and school principal & superintendent, which made people laugh when they saw them. I was encouraged by my mother (also an artist) to keep practicing even though I came from a poor Michigan farm family and couldn't afford college. You could say that my life has been one of discovery as I learned and practiced the art techniques of artists I admired.
I started painting in oils when I was 12 and even though I've dabbled in other media, oils will always be my first choice when painting landscapes or portraits. I look at drawing and painting portraits as a challenge. Every person has unique features which define the individual. As a portrait artist, the challenge is to discover the uniqueness of each individual and put it in a work of art. Portraits may be my first love, but a close second is painting landscapes. I find amazing beauty all around me. I've lived in the Carolina's, The Colorado Rockies, and the Midwest states surrounding the Great Lakes. I've traveled extensively from Florida to Alaska, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy and even though the landscape is different, there is a unique beauty everywhere I look. I cannot help myself but try to capture this beauty in a work of art and hopefully share this beauty with others who see my work. |