David Tompkins

Biography: To understand me and my art you have to understand my past. I was born Tetralogy of Fallot (that’s a heart defect) in 1974 in Cincinnati, OH., by age 5 I had already undergone two heart surgeries, now I am 32 and awaiting heart surgeries number five, since my pulmonary valve is leaking again. Many of my doctors and the people closest to me never expected me to make it past 30. Throughout my childhood we continued to move up and down the east coast until settling in Pennsylvania. As a child I had an increased interest in art, animation, etc, but was never really encouraged to do anything with it as my parents deemed it “a waste of time” and “unrealistic”., and as a result I never received any formal art education. Needless to say, dealing with my health issues and impending death sorta drove me nuts (during my teen years I was hell on wheels). In my late twenties I got really depressed, dangerously so, and decided to go into therapy. It was at the Princeton House in NJ where I discovered painting. It helped me express my anger and feelings about my situation. I paint how I feel at the time. Since then I have been painting a lot, mostly abstract, and I mostly use only my hands to apply paint. I work with acrylics on canvas and on paper. People started to take notice, at first I thought everyone was just being nice. It was when a gallery owner in Newtown, PA offered to display my stuff that I started to take painting more seriously. Since then my work has also been on display at the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, and I have sold several pieces to private collectors. So, there you have it. I paint how I feel and deal with my life in an honest and often raw manor that is reflected in my paintings.

Country: United States

E-mail: dangrmaus@comcast.net

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