I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a BFA in Illustration. While there I studied oil and watercolor painting, as well as Renaissance techniques like egg tempera.
Looking back, I feel like I was born drawing. My dad would bring home his old office memos from work and the “scratch paper” stack would be at least a foot high in the linen closet. I had an endless supply of paper to sketch on. I stuck with it and art became the thing I was clearly pretty good at, even if school was otherwise uninteresting to me.
In my art I’ve always been inspired to capture the realism of natural landscapes and animals with a healthy dose of color and line abstraction that elevates images beyond reality. I try not to overthink compositions and style, letting things unfold organically as I build out the designs. With my paintings, color comes later and I apply it intuitively.
In 2018 I decided to focus on a series of birds. I was most interested in including only a few dominant design elements as focal points: single species, simplified abstract background, inkwork and color blocking similar to stained glass, and the bird’s name in a bold Art Deco font.
Over the next several years I created more than a dozen bird paintings, but in summer 2020 I noticed a small tremor in my dominant left hand. At first I thought it was overwork—perhaps brought on by pandemic stress—but by the end of the year I’d been delivered a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis at the ripe young age of 52. After working for years in realism with fine detail, pretty much overnight I knew I’d have to let go and embrace a looser style.
While fearful that Parkinson’s tremors would deter me artistically, in part they led me back to pastels, a medium whose very nature calls for erratic arm movements. Serendipitously I quickly realized the short strokes flowed with my tremors. I felt empowered and hopeful. In late 2021 I started taking medication that calms my tremors to the point where I can paint without much interference from them.
While an optimist at heart, in the long run I know my Parkinson’s will progress. I plan to walk the fine line between accepting my disease limitations as they unfold and pushing myself to achieve a level of detail that brings me the most satisfaction. While my bird paintings are on the smaller side (9″x12.5″), my pastels encourage me to work a bit larger (14″x20″).
In future I hope to work with other artists with Parkinson’s, as well as donate a portion of my art sales to help support research for this neurological disease that impacts roughly 8.5 million people globally (World Health Organization). At present my wife and I donate to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, as well as participate quarterly in the Fox Insight and PPMI online studies.
I value and encourage collaboration and connection. Please reach out with any questions/feedback or just feel free to say hello. I make a point to answer all emails.
David Browne 