Biography   |   continuation

David Swanson interprets the Western landscape in oils and watercolors. An Illinois native, he lived in Chicago and studied at the Art Institute there during the tumultuous years from 1968 to 1972, where he was influenced by the 60’s pop/surrealist school of painting.

After moving to Los Angeles, he worked for over twenty years as an architectural illustrator–doing work for Richard Mier, Steve Chase, and Wilson & Associates, to name but a few–acquiring great skill in interpreting and depicting architecture of any kind.

In 1992, deciding to break with his career as an illustrator and make the transition into fine art, David traveled to the Bridger Mountains of southwestern Montana to work as a hunting guide, and to paint. His exposure to the landscapes of the Rockies had a profound effect on his art, and led to he and his family finally moving to Livingston, Montana in 1999.

Though his work is strongly representational, harking back to the years in illustration, there is a tendency towards the fantastic or the surreal, especially in his use of color and choice of subject matter. Inspired by the American highway experience, David says: ”I’m fascinated by the debris of our culture and it’s people – especially old buildings, bridges, and vehicles. I’m impressed by the enormous undulating linear quality of the American landscape, and I enjoy interpreting the seemingly permanent landscape caught in a fleeting instant, or as something moves across the face of it.”    More >