David Sandquist - Visual Artist

I have been an artist all my life.  I began as a young child drawing highly detailed pictures of the stuffed birds in my Grandma's apartment (she lived with us after my Grandpa, an avid bird hunter, died).  I began painting in my early teens, starting with acrylics, and found inspiration in the album covers of Iron Maiden by Derek Riggs.  I soon became disillusioned by the dull "look" of acrylics mixed with water and began trying oils.  While I enjoyed painting with oils, the odour was a little too much in my small apartment, so I switched to watercolours.  While it took me a while to get used to the techniques of watercolour, it soon became my medium of choice.  I have, however, returned to acrylics with the modern mediums allowing for the vibrant colours and that still "wet" look of oil paint, but with low odour and the ease of clean up of watercolour.
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Over the years, my subject matter has varied but with a primary focus on landscapes, especially of water, although I have returned to my "Fan Art" beginnings with my series of Lord of the Rings inspired paintings as well as original "fantasy" styled art.  I have recently branched into wildlife painting, with a current focus on fish.  My art students have made a joke of my obsession with the "trouts" and they have served as comedic fodder in the school Grad videos of the last few years.