David Van Everen Fine Art
Contemporary Art for Sale or Commission
Selected Works
About the Artist
David Van Everen graduated Summa Cum Laude from California College of Arts & Crafts (now CCA) in 1995 with a B.F.A. in Painting. Since then, he has continued working in traditional media, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, charcoal, and mixed media, in the S.F. Bay Area.
“Contemporary painting is an attempt to reconcile the competing and yet inseparable aspects of representation and abstraction.” – David Van Everen
Artist Statement
I make art to externalize an inner condition. Throughout my artistic practice, I’ve been pulled between representation and abstraction, and I’ve come to see that tension as the catalyst. I’m no longer trying to reconcile it; it’s what gives my work life.
Most of what I make falls into two groups. The first is portraiture and figurative work. Recent portraits like Her Warmth, The Moment, and Lonely Woman begin with being receptive to the model’s inner state: a fleeting thought, a melancholy moment, a revelation. Likeness grounds the work in a recognizable human presence, while color, form, and composition evoke the emotion that connects the viewer with the subject.
The second group is what I call interior dramas. These are paintings and drawings built from a personal visual language of characters, archetypes, and motifs I’ve returned to for years to tell stories about my inner life.
In both groups, the figure is my muse. It’s a person, and it’s also a set of formal elements: lines, masses, planes, gestures. A curved shoulder becomes a flat plane; a negative space takes on a life of its own. I work in traditional media because these formal puzzles remain unsolved for me, and always will.
FAQs
Do you accept commissions?
Yes, I accept commissions. My commission pricing is consistent with my original artwork, which is based on its size. I can work in a variety of styles, and as part of the commission process, I’d ask you for inspirations that you’d like reflected in the work. Because commissioned work takes time away from other work, I do need the commission to fit within my artistic practice. I.e., I can’t work on something that doesn’t move me forward as an artist.
Who are some of your influences?
I’m an avid collector of art books, and my influences are pretty far-ranging. Picasso was an early influence; I collected stamps when I was young and had a Guernica stamp that captivated me. Other inspirations include Rembrandt, Van Gogh, De Kooning, Raymond Saunders (one of my teachers), Diebenkorn, Nathan Oliveira, Cecily Brown, and Jenny Saville.
What styles or genres do you work in?
When I was in art school, a fellow student said I was “consistently inconsistent”. That has remained true throughout my entire artistic journey, and I’ve tried to embrace it by working in a style that would probably best fit with Post-Modernism. I developed that style towards the end of my time at art school, in my drawings and works on paper. Sometimes I try painting in that style, but it never quite feels right as a painting. So, my paintings tend to be closer to Abstract Figurative.
What artistic mediums do you use?
In art school, I learned about the craft of making drawings and paintings, and I’ve always had a genuine appreciation and respect for the traditional painting materials and methods. I use some modern materials, like acrylic gesso to size my canvases, and modern pigments like cadmium yellow and red, phthalocyanine blue, etc., alongside traditional ones like sienna, ochre, umber, etc. I tend to stick with oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, and a variety of drawing tools.
How permanent is your work?
Nearly all of my work should outlast anyone alive today, with proper care. The exception would be many of my drawings; the markers I use are probably not lightfast enough to survive 100 years. I keep most of them out of the light, in portfolio books, but I’ve noticed that some old framed drawings from the 1990s are very slightly faded. Today they still look great, but I think another 50 years of light exposure will make them more noticeably faded.
How can I hear about your recent work and art shows?
The best way to hear about recent work and art shows is to sign up for my monthly newsletter. Additionally, you can follow me on Instagram or my Facebook Page.