Artist of the Month December 2007

David J. Negrón

Bellflower, CA

How and when did you start creating art?

When I was nine my mother decided to have me spend a summer with my grandmother. She was very poor and living in the border town of Laredo, Texas. My grandmother and my aunt lived in a one room house with an attached kitchen which had a dirt floor. There were no children in this neighborhood - needless to say I was bored. During this time I became fascinated with the newspaper Sunday comics which were used as wall paper to keep the cold out. I became intrigued as to how simple black lines on paper could make a person or an object seem real. I found a big roll of paper - something like those used for adding machines but maybe wider and a pencil and started to copy those comic strip images - Prince Valiant, Tarzan, etc. To my amazement my drawings also had a life-like quality. I filled the whole roll with drawings. When I got home my siblings and parents were amazed at the drawings. I guess for me - it took getting good and bored to find my love for art.

What media and genres do you work in?

: I graduated from Art Center College of Design in California. There I trained in all different media but I keep coming back to oils. It is the most versatile of all of them and more stable. What I like most about oils is that the colors and values remain relatively the same when they dry. Most of the others, like designers colors and tempera dry lighter but never in a very consistent manner. I had to make value charts with these paints to predict the outcome after they dried. My gallery work is probably closer to the impressionists then any other school. I like the magic of this method of painting because by some mystery, the work starts to feel like it's creating itself. I mean, when I begin to see things in the painting that I did nor foresaw or intended to paint and I begin to enjoy it myself - I sign it. In my work, I think the viewer is the one who puts the finishing touches to my work. Many of the comments I hear about my work are things people see in them which I hadn't seen myself. They explain and describe my paintings to me as if they had painted them. I think that was what most impressionist painters of the past were trying to achieve - a personal and individual experience for every viewer.

Who or what are your influences?

My first art teacher, Miss Eldah Burk, kindled the flames and encouraged me more than anyone else. In the movie business, John De Cuir, a production designer of movies like "Hello Dolly" and "The Great White Hope" was my art philosopher. In the fine arts - Monet, Sargent, Degas, Vuillard, Bonnard and many of this ilk are my constant "critics and companions."

I worked on the Movie "Hello Dolly" for almost a year. During the shooting I had the opportunity to be with crowds of extras and in the middle of all the production action. At this time I became inspired to do a series of patriotic paintings using the turn-of-the-Century as my theme. It became a collection for a book I want to published entitled "The American Spirit". It is a book full of celebration, good and fun times.

Describe your creative process?

I come from the world of entertainment. I've been a movie artist creating art to set the tone and mood for many motion pictures. I plan movies with directors through storyboards and am involved with writers to help them put their thoughts into images for the screen. So my approach for paintings is to capture life moments which have an existence beyond the frame that is seen. There may be some story being told besides the obvious representation in front of those who see my work. There may be a piece of some other action just peeking from an edge or behind some fence yet to be discovered. I use color and shapes as language so that if one looks at, what I consider to be a good painting, they may be able to "hear' some uncommon "music" as well.

What are you working on currently?

I am very excited about my series on the Expression of The Christ. Many artist have painted Jesus in virtually all situations depicted in the Bible. But what I am intending to do is to focus really close on the expressions of Jesus' face and let the viewer fill-in the rest of the scene - as if you where there looking into his face during the different situations of this exciting time in history. Also, I have been working on Civil War subjects.

What are your near/long term goals as an artist?

To be able to publish my work and create new art pieces that will inspire young artists to produce work to share the joy, pleasure and meaning which dwells inside all who create art from the heart.

Where can people view/purchase your work (gallery, website, etc)?

My website: www.davidjnegron.com and by appointment at my studio: 16313 Clark Ave. Bellflower, California - phone: (562) 920-7004. My agent, Cynthia Santos, is developing relationships with galleries in other locations in the U.S. and Europe. She is also talking to publishers for books of Americana and Religious subjects. A large mural is on exhibit at Euro-Disney in France at the Crystal Palace. We will be exhibiting at the West Coast Art & Frame Show in Las Vegas, Nevada January, 2008.