A sense of place, the mystery of nature's beauty, the serenity of natural rhythms...
"My paintings are about light and the colors revealed by various kinds of light -- morning, evening, and high noon, the twilights, and the four seasons. They are also about the rhythms of darks as found in nature in the form of shadows and planes turned away from the light. These ideas of light & color, and natural rhythms, as well as the literal subject of my paintings become a metaphor of the spirit and allow me to ponder the mystery of life."
"I always paint when I travel, even if it's only in my head. Perhaps my paintings are simply records of my movements around the small part of this planet I've been fortunate enough to visit. But also, they are records of my movements through ideas. Most of the paintings you get to see are pretty consistent as records of a particular landscape with a sense of place."
"My paintings evoke special memories for me. I could only be lucky if they evoked special memories for you. Perhaps you have traveled to the same place or a similar place. The images in my paintings are taken from trips into Colorado, Utah and Arizona, and New Mexico primarily, but painting as I travel is my way of getting to know a place. For reference I use sketches that help fix the moment in my mind and linger on to be resolved as I continue to develop as an artist and human being. Since so many of us are on the move in these harried times, I hope I might be able to stop you for a moment to linger over the light and colors from places I've visited. Maybe you've been there. If you haven't, maybe you'll want to go."
David Schwindt paints primarily the landscape of the Southwest because it is most familiar to him and he knows it intimately having moved to western Colorado when he was four years old. Memories of the big skies and open spaces on the plains of eastern Colorado and Kansas during his early childhood influenced his desire to paint the dramatic skies of the West as well as its mountains and canyons. He studied color theory and basic design at two western universities before completing a degree in art in 1971 with minors in music and humanities at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.
While working as a guidance counselor at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, David was inspired by his students and the Santa Fe arts scene to make art his full time career. Inclusion in the prestigious "Introductions '74" show at the Albuquerque Museum marked his transition as a professional. For several years he focused on watercolor painting and served as president of the New Mexico Watercolor Society. Winning awards at watercolor shows encouraged him to seek venues for his oils, and he found encouragement there also, including three first place awards in oil painting at the New Mexico State Fair. He has been invited to jury and judge local and national shows and enjoys teaching workshops to pass on the education so generously given him by other artists including Milford Zornes, Millard Sheets, George Post, Al Brouillette, and Wilson Hurley.
In 2000, after more than 25 years in New Mexico, David and his family moved to Tucson, AZ where he has added the Sonoran desert to his repertoire. He continues to travel the West and explore new subject matter wherever he finds it.
