Artist David Dean Brings His Work to St. John’s Home

This painting by David Dean is hanging in the Terry Art Gallery at St. John’s Home.

 

 

David Dean looked at a photograph of a sugar shanty hanging in the kitchen of his childhood home and told his mother, “I’m going to paint that someday.” Spoken years before he ever held a paintbrush, it seems a bit prophetic now.

Dean started in acrylics back in 1985 and quickly turned to watercolors. Today, he is an avid, accomplished watercolorist, painting those sights and glimpses of life that catch his eye in the course of a day. Ordinary places become extraordinary scenes under his masterful stroke.

“I love painting in watercolor. I love the color, the versatility of watercolor,” Dean says. “I started painting after several surgeries on my shoulders. I was injured on the job. Painting, I don’t know where it came from, but it was something to do. Use of my arms at that time was limited. My painting just kind of took off, people liked it. I am self-taught, although I have taken a few workshops to learn techniques.”

“My favorite subjects seem to be architectural landscapes. I like dilapidated old buildings, historical landmarks,” he says. “When I pick a subject—or, I should say, when a subject picks me—I will do a photo study on that subject to get every detail. I then paint from the photographs.”

A resident of Allegany County, Dean’s exhibit at the Terry Art Gallery at St. John’s Home is his first show in the Rochester, NY, area. He is a member of the Canyon Camera Club of Wyoming County, which has submitted galleries to St. John’s in the past and now has opened the door for Dean to do the same.

“I am very pleased to have this opportunity. The possibilities of showing my work here [in this region] are somewhat limited.”

Dean’s work will be on display in the Terry Art Gallery for the month of July, and each piece is available for purchase. You can see more of Dean’s work at artbydavedean.com.