A trying, sometimes rewarding habit, art undertakings from my point of view are usually laced with tumult, vexation, amazement and periodic spasms of fantastic gooseflesh. Hot flints of truth, humour, and love; mass, velocity, time, pathos and wonder spark the embers of creativity. Usually I start with a sharp pencil, a straight edge, and some gesso. Compositions change and fluctuate as elements like text and texture are introduced, hence the journey begins and somewhere along the line these combined elements dictate the route, and more and more I find I have the confidence to allow things to move somewhat independently of my own initial outline. It’s very liberating to have the materials walk and talk. Some of my earlier paintings were born of frustration and anger, resulting from the sometimes stupidly poor way in which humans inter-act and communicate with one another. I place myself sometimes on the top of the heap in terms of my inadequate communicative skills, and have also made more time than is necessary to skewer issues and people in my work, which whilst it may make sense at the time, in the long run only adds up to bad communication itself. The portraits are a somewhat recent interest of mine, having lacked the confidence to try anything like this before, and they are influenced by people such as Lucien Freud, Chuck Close, and Mr. Larry Rivers(R.I.P.), all of whom I must profess a deep and somewhat intimidating admiration. The decision to immerse myself in ‘portraiture” intimidated me; it is a classic forum for artistic expression, and many of my favourite painters throughout the centuries have executed the most magical portraits. The starting point was essentially fear: fear of the unknown, fear that my attempts would crumble and that doubt would sneak in and close the door on my labours. In truth, these things did hang over my head, but I made the conscious decision to make the works fun, whilst also painting people that I know, some of whom I love, all of whom I respect. The next stage of my work will involve pulling the viewpoint out from the face a little bit and trying some torso work, whilst keeping the emphasis on fun, discipline, good decision-making and painting that is true to myself.

David Dauncey--.Education

1985-1987.N.E.Worcestershire College.(youth training scheme/mechanical engineering)

1987-1989.N.E.Worcestershire College of Art & Design.

1989-1992.University of the West of England.(ceramics/painting)

David Dauncey--.Professional Experience.

1996-2000.Designer/Artist.Phoenix Art Group.

2000-present.Self Employed Artist/Designer.