Life & Work with David Pratt

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Pratt.

Hi David, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, my name is David Pratt, and I’m an artist. Like most people, I started creating art when I was a kid. As an aside, I’ve noticed over the years that even though most people relish painting and scribbling as children, somehow most of us make less art as we “grow up.” We start to judge how our art looks compared to the work of others. We get focused on the notion that what we make needs to look a certain way. I think we forget that the value is in the making as much as (if not more than) in the finished piece. Anyway, I’m grateful that I’ve managed to keep creating!

For me, there is an inner balancing that happens when I make art, and it is very similar to the process of meditation. Even when I was young, I was attracted to creating because of the transformation I experienced in myself, and that is still at the heart of what I do and why I do it today. When I went to college at Kent State in the late 80s, I began as a graphic design major.

I had the idea that I would make a living doing graphic work by day and by night I’d enjoy the freedom of exploring wilder creations. A couple of years into school, it was clear that I wouldn’t be so happy with this plan, and I stopped taking graphic coursework. To this day, I’m grateful to have had that foundation in form and composition. It helps to shape even the most uninhibited work that I do now.

So, I switched my major to English and Creative Writing at KSU, and this allowed me to make art that wasn’t for any assignments and was made on my own time, while simultaneously honing the form and craft of writing while in class. I received the Wick Poetry scholarship and The Engleman Award for creative writing at KSU, and after graduating, I often paired poetry and prose with visual art. This is a recurring exploration for me to this day.

Since college, my art has appeared in a variety of different galleries, and now hangs in homes around the U.S. and as far away as Ireland. I’ve had three solo shows in the past 5 years, which has been fun and an education in itself. I currently have a solo exhibit in Canton, Ohio at Yoga Central, a really beautiful and lively center with a focus on the arts. This show features what I am passionate about these days, and includes a lot of the elements I’ve mentioned so far. I’ll describe it a little bit because it gives the most full presentation of my art right now.

The title of the show is “The Whole in The Part,” and it includes 24 pieces, many of which examine Storms: Inner storms of the individual and how those separate us from each other, and the outer, literal storms that are increasing due to climate change and the interrelationships between these. On a “nuts and bolts” level, this whole body of work also celebrates the spark of inspiration that I experience when I introduce digital art to earthy, natural pigments like clay paint and Indian ink. It’s a meeting of old and new world approaches, and I never quite know what will emerge.

I also use my photography, which I sometimes digitally alter and print and then paint and add ink. Often I repeat this process many times. For me, digital art and photography have become a modern variation of frottage, which I first learned about when studying the Surrealists.

This is the technique of making rubbings with charcoal, chalk, etc… over top of textured surfaces and then working with that using other mediums. In its way, this new version of frottage creates random patterns. With a paintbrush in hand, these patterns draw me into a relationship of unexpectedness, surprise, and discoveries that I sometimes liken to work with Rorschach ink blots or the experience of cloud-watching.

I am enlivened by leaving some ambiguity and vagueness in my art and even photography, and I mix that with hidden, but recognizable forms – faces, birds, trees, leaves, houses… Many of my final pieces end up laden with images that can take a little while to become evident to viewers. This current show in Canton has multiple pieces where I have gone deeply into this kind of play.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, the main struggle has been simply making time for making art. Like many artists, I juggle a variety of other hats – or jobs to be more specific. I am passionate about those too, and they are also my main source of income. My wife and I own a holistic retreat center, and I am a massage therapist. I can sometimes get very busy with clients and retreat guests or maintaining our lovely property. So, the amount of art I’m doing in a given period kind of waxes and wanes.

One of the key factors in a sort of renaissance of my art-making was the pandemic. For the first time in decades, I had the sudden and sometimes extended experience of not being able to do my usual work. Like others, I discovered that I was grateful to have more time to paint.

At the same time, there was an underlying uncertainty and even angst about so much of what was happening, including the toll it was taking on our finances. As we have continued to ride that roller coaster, I have been strongly reminded of the need to preserve time for creating art. I’ve been reminded of how nourishing and necessary that is for me and the amount of interest in my creations has increased a lot over these past few years. I need the inner wealth that art-making brings as much as the monetary kind of wealth!

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
There is an adage, “Expect nothing, gain everything.” I heard this many decades ago, and its support is still alive and fresh when I remember it. If I’m working on a painting and notice that my mind is making a commentary about it, “Oh, that looks terrible. I don’t like how this is turning out!” or maybe even, “Oh, this is so great!” I often simply stop and experience a breath. I’m not out to get rid of that commentary, but I also don’t need to identify with it.

The reconnection to my body moving and body breathing helps me drop expectations and even to have acceptance of that judging voice. Then I can continue in an almost exploratory way, making discoveries as I go. There is a lot of freedom and nurturance for myself in operating this way. So, inherent in this first lesson (expect nothing, gain everything) is also the adage to “Stay the course.” Body-mind connection helps me on that path. I find that this helps not only in the creation of a single piece but also in many areas of my life. The support for working in this way comes from my study and practice of Breema: The Art of Being Present. Breema has been an incredible support for bringing meaning and purpose to my daily hours for the past two decades. You can learn more at www.breema.com.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dxprattartist.com
• Other: www.truenatureretreat.com