Artist's Statement

Purely inspired art is an expression and reflection of life as the artist sees it.  Art created from the soul of the artist is often a burst of flowing activity that may last a few minutes, weeks, months, or even a lifetime.  For me, it is often from a few hours to a few weeks.  Each one of these bursts usually results in a series of paintings or sculptures that may or may not relate to the previous or the following one.  It may take many forms from very abstract to hyper-realistic. 

An artist's art inevitably shows the beliefs and worldview of its creator.  Art created by commission or by the demands of the market may show the artist's technique, skill, and flair yet disguise or even contradict his inner self.   Sometimes an artist's greatest works come from the release of pent up creativity after hours or days creating commissions with strict adherence to the eye and desires of the client.  But commissions also challenge the artist to do something he might otherwise never do and bring about a new area of work that would not have ever been created.

Bio

Doug Simpson was born in Houston and raised in the small West Texas town of Browsfield.  The dusty, flat, sand-blasted environment encouraged a quick exit from the region at 19. The terrain and the effects of the weather created a love for the water, trees, and hills that didn't exist on the plains.  For many years his paintings were landscapes depicting the rivers and forests of places in which he only dreamed of living,  but for the past 25 plus years he has lived in Denison Texas near Lake Texoma among the many beautiful trees and rolling terrain.

Spending the 25 years after leaving his childhood home in the retail environment, he decided to pursue a college education at 46.  Having a love for teaching, he acquired a BA degree in Art Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.  Finding public school not the most enjoyable place of employment, Artplace Gallery was born.  A lifetime's love of art was finally realized in the gallery, studio, and art community of Denison.  Doug found the demands of the gallery cut too deep into art making and sold the gallery to its manager in 2005.  He now maintains a studio has a new bursts of creativity, and is heavily involved in assisting other artists and the Denison art community to advance toward their goals.