(Image: "Homage to Robert Hamilton 2" by David Estey)

David Estey is a painter/printmaker who has taught and exhibited in Maine, the Mid-Atlantic States and in North Carolina. His work includes paintings and prints in a wide variety of styles and media, as well as an abundance of strong, expressive figure drawings in charcoal. David was born in Fort Fairfield, northern Maine, and is a 1960 graduate of Crosby High School in Belfast.

In 1964, he earned a BFA degree in painting from Rhode Island School of Design and, in 1976, a MSA degree in public administration from George Washington University. He studied painting a year in Rome, Italy, at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

After illustrating a few years for the U.S. Army and a career in public affairs with IRS in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, he returned with his wife Karen to live and work in their newly renovated home/studio in Belfast.

When did you first realize that you were going to be an artist and when did you first start making art?
I probably became more certain of some kind of art profession, instead of engineering, once I saw the Rhode Island School of Design, during my junior year in high school. I had been drawing and painting at least since age eight in third grade. I taught myself by drawing everything that interested me and copying all kinds of books in the library. I really wanted to be Norman Rockwell

Who or what inspires you?
These days, and for many years since RISD, I cannot get over the work of Willem de Kooning. I think Picasso was the most important artist of the 20th century, because he made art with the enthusiasm and curiosity of a child his whole life, and reworked the entire history of art in the process. Of course, I'm awed by the old masters, but I'm still drawn to the abstract expressionists and admire many modernists. Locally, I especially love the work of my friends, Harold Garde, Mark Kelly, Wes Reddick, Linden Frederick, and my painting instructor at RISD, the late Robert Hamilton. I also love drawing the figure, and I prefer the organic forms in nature to manmade geometry.

Is (was) anyone else in your family in the arts?
No.

Are you self-trained or did you go to art school?
I didn't have any training in art until I went to RISD.

Is the process of creating your art long or short?
It depends. Sometimes my first, quick sketches or painted impressions are best left alone. I often rework figure drawings well after the fact, because I have a better aesthetic perspective than when confronted with all the beauty and complexity of the life model. My paintings often take a long time to mature and "reveal themselves." If they hang around long enough, I inevitably change or tweak them.

("Fool" by David Estey)

Tell us something about your work.
My work consists primarily of charcoal figure drawings and abstract paintings in oil or acrylics. It varies widely from very realistic to totally abstract, and everything in between - whatever peaks my curiosity and satisfies my aesthetic taste, with a sense of design always at the forefront. I know this method of working can seem inconsistent, undisciplined, or even immature to those who prefer to see a signature style or more common threads. My interest is in doing the best I can to make pictures that really stimulate me, for whatever reason, while having fun exploring the process.

Do you have a subject matter that defines you as an artist?
No, nor a style. However, my artist friends have always admired the strength of my drawings and lately, my sense of color.

What makes you stay with a particular subject matter? Why are you drawn to it?
The figure has always been a source of inspiration for artists because it has all the forms, relationships and complexities found in other subjects. For me, that means it is a great source of ideas for inventing and combining new forms in ways we have never seen before but somehow find familiar. Paint, on the other hand, has a way of finding and inventing itself to produce a very exciting result.

How do you stay motivated?
I follow the art world through books, magazines and the internet, as well as support and enjoy the work and camaraderie of my local artist friends. I like to keep a lot of my work in sight, so I have a lot of things to work on and don't get stuck. I also pursue other interests and try something totally different when the karma is not flowing. I try not to force creativity.

What have you been working on lately? Are you experimenting with anything new?
I've taken up acrylics again, after working exclusively with oil for some time. I had preferred the slow drying time of oils in order to keep the work in a state of flux longer. Lately I've been more interested in the faster drying time of acrylics so I can get on with layering, overpainting and moving the work forward. Perhaps I feel like I'm running out of time.

Has your medium changed from when you first started out?
I've tried all kinds of mediums over the years, and still do, but I've kind of settled on oil/acrylics for painting, and charcoal/graphite for drawing. I'm not too interested now in ink, pastels, collage, etc. - but you never know. I like printmaking but haven't had easy access to a good press lately. In recent years, I've done a lot of experimenting with Photoshop, to try out ideas and stimulate new imagery. The trick there, for me, is not to become enamored with a computer design and make a chore out of translating it into paint. That's a lot like work and often negates the pleasures of creativity and surprise.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
Follow your heart. Everyone has gifts to share, but there is only one you. Your job is to find out who you really are and share that with the rest of us. One way to stay on that path and keep going is to surround yourself with the people and things that really touch, stimulate and encourage you, even if you don't know why. Keep lots of projects going, so you can work on another when you get stuck on one, and so you can take advantage of solutions that often become clear when you least expect it. Find out who is doing work you like and learn how to do it. If you are interested in becoming known, show your work whenever you get a chance, but don't be discouraged if it is not accepted in a particular show. There are often many factors in such decisions that you cannot always know. Just keep working.

What kind of comment do you despise the most when overheard at one of your openings?
I'm not very concerned about people who don't know what they are talking about, but I suppose the most annoying comment for most artists is, “I/a child/anyone/a monkey could have done that”

What kind of comment pleases you the most when overheard at one of your openings?
I'm always very gratified when artists whom I respect and admire say things like, “This guy is really good.”

(Image: "Oly Oly Over" by David Estey)

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?
Briefly, I've tried to see what the market is like, insert my work where appropriate (not everywhere), take advantage of opportunities for exposure, and cultivate some contacts in a fairly casual way. Lately, I've turned much of that over to my wife. Although I've had considerable success with exhibits and publicity (and have enjoyed the attention), I'm beginning to feel it takes up too much of my time and is relatively unrewarding. My primary concern is advancing the quality and creative output of my work, regardless of exhibits, publicity, sales and recognition - or the lack thereof.

Do you have any outside interests other than art?
Many - family and friends, community, music, literature, writing, history and politics.

Are you disciplined about your creative process (in other words, do you treat the process like a job, where you keep particular hours in the studio), or are you more spontaneous?
I'm creating in some fashion about every day, most of the day, and usually in my studio, but I prefer to make art when the energy is flowing that way, rather than try to force creativity.

How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to create art?
It's hard to imagine what could stop me. I hope I could still experience and appreciate art, at least. I would probably turn to music and other interests, if capable.

What's the best part of being a full time, working artist?
The playfulness experienced as a child and the sense of discovery. The sense of accomplishment when you make something new that you, and maybe others, think is beautiful and important.

What's the worst part of being a full time, working artist?
Those times when you feel stuck, frustrated, disappointed, even bored with what you've done. For some, I suppose it is the lack of adequate compensation.

Do you have any upcoming shows?
I'll be a partner with Carl Little in the art and poetry festival October 16th & 17th, with work exhibited at Darby's restaurant during October. I will have an exhibit at Husson University in Bangor in January.

Where can we find your work?
I have numerous pieces on exhibit at Carver Hill Gallery in Rockport, two in CMCA's current self portrait exhibit in Rockport, and four at the Parent Gallery in Belfast. Two paintings are hanging in the new wing of the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. Sixteen large, framed prints of my Maine landscapes are on permanent display at the headquarters of MMG Insurance Company in Presque Isle, Maine. A book of my recent work, called "DAVID ESTEY Drawings, Paintings & Prints", is available in Belfast at Aarhus Gallery, Parent Gallery, Mr. Paperback, and The Fertile Mind Bookshop, and at Left Bank Books in Searsport, or directly through me. Three other books: "DAVID ESTEY Drawings", "DAVID ESTEY Landscapes", and "DAVID ESTEY Portraits" are available online at blurb.com. In addition, my painting entitled "Belfast Summer Nights" was selected out 1500 entries to be featured on the 2010 AARP calendar.

>link to David Estey's website

- Brenda Bonneville, editor

Copyright © 2009 MAINE ART SCENE - Maine Arts & Culture Online Magazine.

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