Douglas Friday

I grew up in Enfield, Connecticut and as I am an avid hiker it is of no great surprise that as an artist I turn to nature for inspiration. The natural world reveals so many poetic places to paint and affects such a reverential impression upon me that I feel compelled to paint a particular place at a specific time of day in order to capture that original sensation of awe and wonderment. These temporal moments require an immediate and direct approach to painting and so I work quickly on location dashing colors onto the canvas or paper in a patchwork of wet on wet paint. I want to create a dynamic and textural surface that is energized by visual tensions, ambiguous clashes between flat and deep space, cool and warm colors and overlapping shapes that assert or deny the illusion of three- dimensional space. I strive to maintain a balance between the faithful representation of nature directly observed and the seemingly abstract qualities of basic patterns and shapes that are there to distill in order to create a unique pictorial language that allows me to express my feelings of joy at play.

I continue to experiment with my technique and subject matter as I believe my art should always be evolving. Most recently I have been working from photographs in watercolors and gouache in the studio. I continue to paint outdoors and enjoy the immediacy and attention required to record observable phenomenon, but I also like to work from the imagination and to explore the mysterious workings of the imagination, memory, nostalgia and recollection associated with the use of photographic and other reference materials.

My artistic influences are many but include Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Neil Welliver, Charles Burchfield, and Andrew Wyeth.

• MFA, Master of Fine Arts in Painting-Western Connecticut State University, CT 2009-2011

• B.A., Mass Media Communications-Central Connecticut State University, CT, 1999-2006

• Chautauqua Institution School of Art, Chautauqua, NY, Class of 2010

Exhibitions

New England College for Women

Juried Art Exhibition

New London, CT

March 1986

Friends of Valley Falls, Inc.

Artist’s Day at the Farm

Vernon, CT

August 17, 2008

Fowler-Kellogg Art Center

Student Show

Chautauqua Institution

Chautauqua, New York

August 2010

Western Connecticut State University

Higgins Gallery

Danbury, CT

March 31-April 14, 2011

Blue Mountain Gallery

New York, NY

June 21-July 9, 2011

Nashawannuck Gallery

Easthampton, MA

September 3-10, 2011

21st Annual Piedmont Art Show

Presented by The Somers Cultural Commission

Somers, CT

September through October 2013

Enfield Central Library

New Works Solo Exhibition

Enfield, CT

May 2018

Awards

Awarded 3rd Place prize in oil painting category for student exhibition held at New England College for Women in 1986 and sponsored by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Connecticut, Inc..

I received two Arts Festival Scholarships for excellence in art from the Women’s Club of Enfield, CT upon graduation from Enrico Fermi High School in 1986.

I received two Certificates of Notable Accomplishment Notable in Recognition of Leadership Abilities for The Arts Festival from the Women’s Club of Enfield, CT in 1986.