ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My name is David Collins and I am an American artist of mostly Irish heritage. My grandfather was an artist and I have followed in his footsteps. My father Vincent brought our family from New Jersey to Lincoln, Nebraska where I grew up on the SAC Air Force Base. Dad was an officer in Air Force Intelligence and my mother was a housewife. I was a kid. This work reflects my reactions to the world and its many situations. I explore my empathy for the human experience. The subject matter is a narrative and speaks to both the humorous and the arduous aspects of life, as an artist I am a storyteller. Most recently I have been working on images about the Katrina Hurricane. The characters evolve from my hand to the canvas and they then share with me their story.

I typically work on 3-5 works of art at a time. I find that the problems presented by one painting can be solved in another. The work is not preconceived and I am able to bring strong emotional aspects from the subject matter to the viewer by the use of expressive line and immediate process. The work is either subjective or abstract, but it is always thought provoking.

My mentor’s comment: David’s work evokes the playful depths of life and the unconscious thought. The lines slide across the surface and escape like tricksters off the edge of the page. He uses bright splashes of color to highlight the caricatures of human life; there is color in league with line to generate surprise. The work is light of spirit but also bold and confident and gives the viewer a narrative in disguise.” – Sally Brown artist

To view more of David Collins art, go to www.raincollective.com