MSU Extension Michigan ArtShare

Doug owes his artistic career to three factors – a short attention span, support from friends and family, and early recognition by the Lansing Art Gallery. He was accepted in one of the first community-wide competitions the Lansing Art Gallery sponsored. The pieces that he has submitted are a part of his early work as an artist. They are pieces that he loves and cherishes because they represent his beginning as an artist and work that enabled him to continue his career.

His process for these pieces started with going to the Potter Park Zoo or the MSU Farms and drawing large pictures of animals. In these drawings, he would center on body posture and identifying characteristics of the animals more than realistic portrayals. He would then take the loose drawings and begin making stencils from butcher paper, tracing elements of the drawing then cutting a hole in the butcher paper with a utility knife, He would print 25 images of the first stencil and then add to or modify his design with each added color. The quality of the ink, its matte surface and opacity kept him working with this media despite his messy nature.