Doug Strickland
Artist's Statement/Biography
I was born in North Carolina, and have lived here all my life. I graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in Industrial Relations and worked for many years as a clinical social worker in a mental health facility while pursuing involvement in painting and drawing as a hobby and avocation. Since retiring in 2003, I have devoted more time to my artwork and have met with increasing success in exhibiting and sales.
Since childhood, I have been inspired and motivated by visual art, photography, and the natural beauty of people, places, and scenes around me. I started very early to try to capture on paper in pencil and other media, the things that attracted me visually. Although I have taken art courses, including some in college, I am primarily self-taught in the techniques that interest me and in which I work best.
I draw and paint in a realistic representational style, but do not try for a photo-realistic effect . I want the viewers to have no doubt they are looking at artwork which was created by hand. I feel that representational art stands on its own for evaluation without the need for suspension of critical analysis by the viewer or external interpretation or validation. I have studied the works of Van Gogh, Sargent, and others, whose use of color, texture, and brushwork in their creative processes, have been strong inspirational influences that I try to emulate. My work is representational in nature, and often has impressionistic qualities. The style and quality of my artwork have evolved and improved over the years, owing in part to the workshop tutelage of nationally-renowned artist, Daniel Greene, and recreational painting courses I have received (and later taught) through Johnston Community College. I participated in a portrait academy workshop sponsored by the Portrait Society of America in November 2006 instructed by Dawn Whitelaw and Edward Jonas. I produce several portrait drawings or paintings every year in addition to still lifes, landscapes, florals, animals, or whatever subject matter attracts my attention. I maintain a website where I display and sell my artwork and offer commissioned works.
I have had gallery representation at Nicoles Gallery and Studio in Raleigh,NC, in the past, and am a past member of the Visual Art Exchange, also in Raleigh.
Honors and Awards
2014: NC State Fair - Best State Fair Scene.
2011: NC State Fair - TWO awards: 1. First Place in Professional Painting and 2. Best North Carolina Scene.
2010: NC State Fair – Commissioner’s Choice (Purchase) Award, Honorable Mention (Professional Painting), Honorable Mention (Faces of North Carolina)
2010: Clayton (NC) Art Faire: Award of Merit
2010: North Hills Midtown Plein Air Painting Competition - 1st Place, “People on the Move” Category
2010: Johnston County Arts and Food Festival – 1st Place, art competition
2009: Jr. League of Raleigh “Someplace Like Home” show – Third Place
2009: NC State Fair – Best in Show Award
2009: Clayton (NC) Art Faire: Award of Merit
2009: North Hills Midtown Plein Air Painting Competition - 1st Place, “Quick Painting”, and “Best Plein Air Representation – Oil”
2008: NC State Fair – 1st Place, Professional Painting, Commissioner’s Purchase Award
2008: Clayton Art Faire: Award of Merit
2007: NC State Fair – 2nd Place, Professional Painting
2007: Winner of Clayton, NC Promotional Poster Contest
2006: NC State Fair – 1st Place, Professional Painting, Commissioner’s Purchase Award, and an Honorable Mention
2006: Clayton Art Faire – 3rd Place
2005: Clayton Art Faire – 3rd Place
2004: NC State Fair – Honorable Mention, Professional Painting
2004: Clayton Art Faire – 3rd Place
2004: Wayne County Arts National Exhibit (Goldsboro, NC) – Second Place.
2003: NC State Fair – 3rd Place, Professional Painting
2003: Clayton Art Faire – 3rd Place
2002: Clayton Art Faire - 2nd Place
2002: Wayne County Arts National Exhibit (Goldsboro, NC) – Second Place
2000: NC State Fair – Best Agricultural Scene and Commissioner’s Purchase Award
1998: Fine Arts League of Cary, NC – Best Oil Painting