Art of Don DeLeva

Let me just preface this painting with the fact that paper dolls can not cut themselves out... title 1: Paper Doll title 2: Once I Was A Paper Doll, Now I Am A CSS Stylesheet Medium: Acrylic on panel Size: 6" x 6" x .05" Date: 12/17/2017 C-log: #12172017 Web: www.dondelevaart.com Story: Maybe the second title needs more explaining. One night, after coding my website and drinking numerous RedBulls I fell asleep at the keyboard... I dreamt I was paper doll and that my friends and I were going out clubbing in Seattle. I wanted to change my clothes but paper dolls can't change their clothes and neither can they cut out their outfit. So instead of trying to use scissors I decided to code myself a new look in CSS and sure enough, it worked! I got so carried away that I fashioned myself a Prince like outfit minus the ruffles but adding a string of pearls.

This is part of a new sort of post method for me since, I seem to be so sporadic. I am going to try to give a photo evolution  history for each painting. This is the first one. At this point there is no title of the painting, but you will see as I paint the title of the work will change. 3/4/18-UPDATE on the stump painting: Still nothing. It is sitting in my studio staring at me. So times it take months. I have had paintings take years to finish.  2/08/18- At this point I seem to have come to a stand still on this painting. Not really sure why, I just can't seem to get a good look on what is going on and where it is going. Time away from it is a good thing. No. 9 front 01/31/2018 At this point I am around 70% complete. I will be saturating the colors but I am still discovering the image. No.8 front 01/26/2018 A working title : Kitty and the Swan No.7 side- 01/22/2018 Sometimes I find turning a  painting on it's side and paint helps to find out th...

Candy Breath is a first attempt to bring both my Pop Surrealist and Abstraction tendencies together. As you view the painting you can start to see cartoonist features blend into realistic features that are abstracted and then disappear. I do this give the impression of a personality changing as mood changes and conversation ebbs and flows. This painting SOLD in the "VISIONS EN ROUGE" (link to show) , Confluence Gallery (link to gallery) , Twisp Wa. 12/2017

Kitty Noire:  wood panel, silver mylar wall paper, acrylic paint, varnish,  6"x 6"x 0.5 . 08.09.2017 I started painting on wall paper, this is on Silver Mylar it's more of an experiment. At work I have access to so many types of surfaces that I decided to start taking advantage of the scraps and recycling bins.

RoboCat:  wood panel, acrylic paint, varnish,  6"x 6"x 0.5 . 08.09.2017 SOLD : Trisha Gallagher Collection, Tacoma, WA-->

Here is a photo of my last 4 paintings. Keep in mind these are the single images that make up my abstracts.

MeBot and Timmy are two characters I have been panting for a while now. They have been in many abstracts It's only now that I have painted them on their own. MeBot : Acrylic on wood, 6x6 Timmy : Acrylic on wood, 6x6 This Idea of an Alphabet This morning while painting an abstract I started to realize that it might help people understand my more complicated work if I paint my characters in a non abstract way. Kind of like sounding out letters phonetically until you understand how to pronounce a word.  This is how I understood how to listen to noise music.    

I am asked quite often why are my paintings so busy. I don't see them as busy, I see them as 3 or five paintings in one.

Huxley's Dream:  clay board panel, acrylic paint and gold leaf, varnish,  6"x 12"x 2.25. 2/2017. I was reading "The Doors of Perception " by Aldous Huxley during the painting of this work. One does not need to be under the influence of mind altering substances to understand the malleability of reality and how we consistently change our perception of the now to assess and comprehend our present. My art de-focuses focal point in order to challenge the viewers perception of what they are looking at. My paintings are meant to "visually change" as moods, sounds and environment change. The work is not so much about the image, but more about the perception of the viewer. My goal is to get the viewer to actually "see" themselves think.

The Wall Street Bailout. This is a video of paintings inspired by the wall street bail out. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeZlpAULBzN7XXESz6VpAYw

She War Heels:  Wood panel, acrylic paint, varnish,  5"x 7"x .275. 1/23/17

My Black Cape:  clay board panel, acrylic paint, varnish,  5"x 7"x .175. 2016 SOLD : Steve Nelson Collection, Indianola, IA

https://youtu.be/-nO9X2vOZTk painting video "cool defiance"

Madison Price :  .250 Ply wood, acrylic paint, varnish,  8"x 10" 10/2016 SOLD: Marty and Tony Price. This painting brings me to a place in my work that is easy to criticize. It's a cat dressed in a jacket... Why do I feel the need to explain this? One, I painted it as a gift. Two, I have a cat and yes I think she is cute as hell. Three, I have come to a place in my 30 years of painting that I am done with the critics in my head and hands. I just want to paint. I have only about 15 to 20 years left and I just want to paint and promote it the way that is most comfortable to me. Maybe you get to a place in your life that you realize the things that are truly you are the most powerful for you. For example, I would much rather be painting then socializing. I think this has been a major component in why my work is not more commonly known.

Most days I live between desperation and lunacy.

Here are some close ups of cool defiance. She is currently for sale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npcGql9Ir6Y

Cool Defiance :  .250 Ply wood, acrylic paint, varnish,  8"x 10" 11/2016 price: 225.00 plus free shipping About the title: This painting depicts a young woman cautious, intrigued and excited seconds before she exchanges her first words with an attractive stranger. Cool Defiance: Clubbing on a Thursday night is dedication to the scene. Pulsing music, cutting edge fashion, faces cool, mind in trace. She has seen him before, watching her dance but he never comes over just slants there and stares " There is something different about that guy..." Slightly scared she slinks outside. Seconds later he appears through the door, glancing both ways she is leaning against the wall. In a cool defiant pose her heart skips a beat, all shields up seconds before they meet... Story  __________________________ Rain is coming down on the streets, gold, green and red flash in the intersections. LD is done with this brown trout chasing her like a fishing lure...

Power Suit:  Skateboard Ply, acrylic paint, varnish,  41"x 10" SOLD : Jason Fester Skateboard Collection, Seattle Wa. Hear is the newest Skateboard,Title: Power Suit, Acrylic on Skate Deck, 41 x 11 x .35 . 10/2016. She fights everyday, puts her soul into her work. Strong, knows how to get what she wants, she has earned her "Power Suit" climbed the ladder and become a leader. She is a strong woman comfortable in her womanhood. "While an exposed breast in public can have many associated connotations, some women in America today argue the exposed breast is a symbol of liberation. They speak against the proposed notion that their rightful place was below their male counterparts. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toplessness , "As a form of liberation." Along with the tie, I painted her breasts as a symbol of her equality, liberation and strength in the business world.