David Schwindt has always responded enthusiastically to his immediate environment by exploring and painting the landscape around him. He is a relatively new resident of Texas, although his mother was a fourth generation Texan who grew up in Albuquerque, NM.

When David was little over a year old, his family moved to Colorado where he was influenced by mountains and mesas and the romance of the West. In school he copied the Native American artists he found in Arizona Highways, drawing horses when he was young, and then competing on horseback in horse shows throughout high school. He graduated from Fort Lewis College in 1971 with a major in art and minors in music and humanities and began painting the incredibly diverse geographical areas of the Southwest where he grew up.

“Painting is my way of getting to know a place. For reference I use field sketches and studies that help fix the moment in my mind. These images are a ready reference to be resolved as I continue to develop as an artist and human being. I hope my work might stop you for a moment to linger over the light and colors of places I've visited.”

Moving to Santa Fe, NM in 1971, he discovered the art, artists, and the land of enchantment. There he developed his career and passion for art. In 1999 David was one of 15 artists selected by The Grand Canyon Trust to raft the Colorado River and paint the Grand Canyon for ten days. Work from this trip was exhibited at the Forbes Galleries in New York and San Francisco and was the centerpiece for articles in American Artist and Art of the West magazines.

His article, “The Value Solution” was published in the February 2003 issue of The Artist’s Magazine, and reprinted in the November 2010 issue as "Value Judgments." The December 2010 issue of The Artist’s Magazine features his article, "Less is More," and the January-February 2012 issue features his latest article, "The Illusion of Depth and Distance."

Always an outdoor painter, as well as a studio painter, he worked more actively in the Plein Air movement after moving to Tucson, AZ in 2000. He was an active member of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters for 12 years, and in 2005 had two paintings selected for the Top 100 Arts for the Parks. He is a certified teacher for The School of Color, focusing on teaching color as a quality of light. He has taught at the Scottsdale Artist's School, Albuquerque Academy, Starlight Ranch in New Mexico, Toscana Studio and Gallery in Tucson, and The Studio Cedar Park near Austin, Texas.

EDUCATION:

B.A., Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado
Undergraduate classes at University of New Mexico, Fine Arts, and Colorado State University, Commercial Art

Student Teaching, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM

Watercolor workshops with Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes, George Post, and Al Brouillette

Oil Painting workshops with Wilson Hurley, Clyde Aspevig, Zhang Wenxin, Jack Hines, George Strickland

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2019-One Person Show at Hang Ups Framing Gallery, Cedar Park, TX

2016-1994 - Annual One Person Show, Framing Concepts Gallery, Albuquerque, NM

2014 - Painting Western Parks at Western National Parks Association Gallery, Tucson, AZ

2014-2001 - Annual Events, Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters, Colorado

2013-1989 - Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show, Tucson, AZ

2011 - Out in the Open: The Art of Plein Air, Tohono Chul Park Exhibit Hall, Tucson, AZ

2011 - Colors of Colorado, Steamboat Art Museum

2009 - Canyons of the Southwest, Tohono Chul Park Exhibit Hall, November 2009-January 2010

2008 - Artist of the Month, August-September, Tohono Chul Park Exhibit Hall, Tucson, AZ

2006 - Arts for the Parks, Top 200, Jackson Hole, WY

2006 - Oil Painters of America, 15th Annual National Exhibition, Missoula, MT

2005 - Arts for the Parks, Top 100, Jackson Hole, WY

2005 - Arts for the Parks, Mini-100, Jackson Hole, WY

2003 - Oil Painters of America, 12th Annual National Exhibition, Taos, NM

2002 - Cool Waters: Rivers, Creeks and Washes of the Southwest, Tohono Chul Park

2002 - Desert After Dark 2002, Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, AZ

2001 - Grand Canyon Expressions: Painting Down the Rapids, Forbes Magazine Galleries, NYC

2001 - Grand Canyon Expressions: Painting Down the Rapids, Forbes Magazine Galleries, Burlingame, CA

1999 - Three Person Show, Studio W, El Paso, TX

1998 - The Canyon and Other Colors, NAU Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ

1997 - Oil Painters of America, Sixth National Exhibition, Taos, NM

1997, 1994, 1993, 1992, Magnifico, The Art of Albuquerque, Magnifico Invites

1995, One Person Show, St. Johns College, Santa Fe, NM

1994-1975 - New Mexico State Fair Professional Fine Arts Exhibitions

1992-1991 - Magnifico, The Governors Show, Albuquerque, NM

1992-1191 - Miniatures '91, '92, Museum of Albuquerque

1985 - George Phippen Memorial Art Show, Prescott, AZ

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Grand Canyon Trust, Flagstaff, AZ

Nina Pulliam Trust, Phoenix, AZ

Talbot Financial Corporation, Albuquerque, NM

Casa Rondena Winery, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM

Valley National Bank, Tucson, AZ

Sunwest Bank, Albuquerque, NM

Scottsdale Insurance Company, Scottsdale, AZ

Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute, Albuquerque, NM

Modral, Sperling, Rhoehl, Harris & Sisk, PA, Albuquerque, NM

Fanning, Bard, Tatum, Architects, Albuquerque, NM

Society Corporation, Cleveland, OH

PUBLICATIONS

January-February 2012, The Artist's Magazine, "The Illusion of Depth and Distance"

November 2010, December 2010, February 2003, The Artist's Magazine

February 2010, Southwest Art, "On the Scene"

December 3, 2006 - Albuquerque Journal, "Painter Assembles Solid 'Road' Show"

September 2006, Cowboys and Indians, "En Plein Air"

December 19, 2003 - Albuquerque Journal, "Schwindt, Hamilton make inroads with their art"

December 1, 2002 - Albuquerque Journal, "Two Artists Elevate the Common Landscape"

May 2002, Cowboys and Indians, "The Painted Desert"

November 25, 2001 - The Albuquerque Journal

December 2000, American Artist, "Into the Heart of the Grand Canyon"

November-December 2000, Art of the West, "The Grand Adventure"

February 2000, Southwest Art, "Plein-Air Painting at the Grand Canyon"

November 28, 1999, - Albuquerque Journal, "Landscape Show capatures magical views of the world"

November 14, 1999 - Albuquerque Journal, "A Grand Expedition..."

November 9, 1997 - Albuquerque Journal, "Oil Paintings deftly capture spirit of the West"

1995 - Pasatiempo, Santa Fe, NM, "Schwindt Interprets Light..."

1992 - Sangre De Cristo Chorale, Fifteenth Season Anniversary Poster 1992

1991 - Collectors Guide of New Mexico, Albuquerque, "Diary of a Painter"

1982 - Contemporary Western Artists, by Peggy and Harold Samuels

Source: The artist's website
Submitted by: Mark Hohnstreiter