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The Art of David Joaquin
Art that Speaks to the Soul
Gallery
ABOUT
ABOUT
I was born in San Diego, California and raised in San Diego, California and in Hawaii. I am mainly a self taught artist, beginning my art endeavors from elementary school depicting very detailed illustrations of birds,plants and people of various tribes, to high school creating and producing an award winning short film animation, to later running and owning my own gallery in New Zealand.
My mother (who emigrated from Colombia) is a weaver and a woodcarver. She became my first art teacher. When I was a child I was surrounded by art. My mother built our house by hand with recycled wood. All the cabinets, beds, and moldings were beautifully carved and adorned with painted vines and flowers. I remember in our room she had carved a piece of dark wood, and on it painted the star sign characters of everyone in the family.
I began my works of visions and dreams, working with exotic woods such as Milo, Koa, Hau, and mango. Having a sweat lodge in Hawaii exposed me to many different tribes (Lakota, Zuni, Ute, Crow) who would come to sweat with the family, each with different stories and ways, shared in the hot darkness. This is what I began to ‘see’ in my dreams and in wood grains and thus encouraging me to study my own native heritage (Chibcha from Colombia and Mi’kmaq from Quebec).
Most recently, I have expanded my technique using the palette knife with oils on canvas to create my works of Western scenes.
My illustrations have appeared in such publications as “The Land and People of the Colorado Plateau”, “ Dreams- Science Art and the Unconscious Mind” and most recently “Mountain Spirit The Sheepeater Indians of the Yellowstone” and is presently illustrating “Rock Art of the High Plains”. I have exhibited in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, France, Germany & New Zealand.
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