“I am blessed that I
have the opportunity to enjoy God’s creation through painting. Hopefully I may share some of that beauty
through my paintings.”
A watercolorist for over 12 years, Don L. Parks has
concentrated on oils since 1985. He
believes that he should have personally experienced what he paints, thus, many
of his subjects exist in rural America. His observations of the Southwest started
while growing up on a farm- “tractor time was a good opportunity to study
nature.” After military service, he
worked as a farm and ranch management specialist for TexasA&M University
which was another opportunity to observe and appreciate rural America. He believes these experiences have had a
major impact on his painting; the “feel” of the subject matter is there.
Parks paints in an impressionistic style using a quick
simple execution. Frequently, paintings
are done on location where he believes an artist learns to see true color. He has hundreds of studies done on location
which are invaluable reference material for larger canvases. He has painted on location from Catalina
Island to Nantucket and from Alaska to Texas. His observations produce art that allows
others to enjoy glimpses of our world.
Parks has annual shows at Midland’s “Celebration of the Arts” and the
Haley Historical Library. He has studied
under Ted Goeschner, Frank Mason, Ovanes Berberian, Scott Christensen, Matt
Smith and Clyde Aspevig. He has won
awards in numerous regional shows and has been included in the Top 200 in the
Arts for the Parks competition. Parks
was chosen as the Distinguished Artist for the 1996 Celebration of the Arts in Midland, Texas.
“The purpose of a painting is to distract the viewer
from the urgent activities of today’s living and replace them with a moment of
increased awareness that God has given us a world with much beauty. That beauty is likely a commonplace scene- a
low sun casting light on a Plains farmhouse or on October aspens in the
mountains. Such beauty is easy to see in
Nature when we take time to see it.
Nature is not easy to capture on canvas and that challenge keeps me
working as a plein air painter.”
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