AT A GLANCE

Douglas Galloway was born from the blood of red dirt, bleached by the west Texas sun and the moss-covered cypress that languish in bayous of his boyhood memories. Nudged and teased by the works of Rothko and Kline, his collections of abstract, encaustic, mixed media paintings take root in the dry, parched soil of the Pecos Valley and extend eastward to the canvas of the Creole south. From under layers of wax, paint and wood, memories of Louisiana porch light summers will call to you in whispers and promises wrapped in the eclectic spirituality that defines him; a career artist of over thirty years, as he confronts the moment when danger and beauty become one.

IN DEPTH

Texas artist, Douglas Galloway, practiced art even as a small child. He began private lesson at age 8, and was an instructor himself by age 18. Douglas attended Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas where he pursued a degree in Graphic Design, then changed his study to Studio Art. In the mid 1980's he moved to San Antonio, Texas where he immersed himself in the Latin culture, finding himself intoxicated by the festivals, the spirituality and the depth of family devotion that would become the vivid colors of the paint that brushed across his canvas. He moved to New Orleans Louisiana, where he was drawn by the enchantment born from the mysticism of the old South and Creole legends that layered beautifully over all of his work. Douglas left there only to realize later that the galleries and the artists that had helped shape his vision were swept away by the waters of Hurricane Katrina. This was a devastating loss that resulted in his walking away from his art to explore his own spirituality. For ten years he searched inwardly through experiences that led him to chanting with Buddhist leaders, lighting lanterns with Hindu spiritualists, singing and dancing with Sufi, and studying in silence with Gnostic Christians. It wasn’t until he realized his dying father's wish that he return to his art, that he picked up his brush again. He returned to San Antonio, the place that he had felt most alive, and began to celebrate those things in his life that he held most dear. He began his art again with a cleared eyed wisdom and renewed purpose. Douglas invites the viewer to glimpse into his experiences in spirituality and the people that have shaped his journey as it is defined through paper and paint. They are enveloped in beeswax that, like his life, yields a spectral opaque dimension, encaustic by nature and abstract in presentation; as he reveals his love of family, his influence by place, and the strength of his determination to explore and document through art.