David Padgett became interested in art at an early age using drawing as a means to express his emotions about nature.
As a result of his father's love of hunting, fishing and the outdoors, he became increasingly fascinated by nature and its creatures. Early experiences in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico kindled his attraction to the landscape, the animals that live there and the many moods it can relay to the viewer. These experiences sealed forever his desire to try and capture these events on canvas. Being mostly self-taught, Padgett wanted to further advance his painting skills doing workshops with such notable painters as Stan Loewenkamp, Chuck Mardoz, Tom Dooley and Ralph Oberg. In addition he is constantly studying methods and techniques of those painters he admires such as Bob Kuhn, Robert Bateman, Scott Christensen, Jim Wilcox, Morgan Weistling, Guy Combs, Keith Bond and John Stobart.
Working in oil and sometimes oil over acrylic he paints mostly landscape, cityscapes and wildlife. Portraits of people are also of great interest. All his paintings are a combination of personal experience, observation in the field and intense study of habitat and animal behavior. Recently a client came to him with a desire for a large oil painting of a hunting trip. Based on a single photo of the event, showing the client and his guide the idea of doing commission work was born.
As he describes his artist purpose: "To create an expression of texture and rhythm in order that the viewer might have their own experience by participating in the scene before them."
He works out of his studio in Edmond, OK.
Participates in the annual Edmond Art Festival
Member: Edmond Arts Association
Fine Art Institute of Edmond