BiographyDon Desmarais categorizes himself as a 'Mixed Media" artist simply because he finds himself incapable of selecting merely one medium to devote his time to. He is consumed by all the beautiful things that nature has to offer, often using such things as material with which to work.
Don graduated with a B.A. degree in Biology from St. Anselm College in NH. Here he learned a great deal about the nitty-gritty workings of the natural world. He attributes his fascination with life in all its majestic forms to this experience. Many hours were spent in the field collecting insects and plant specimens and observing nature in its splendor.
Don began evolving his passion for making serious art in 1973 at the NH Institute of Art ( then known as the Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences). He soon moved on to private lessons with a mentor and now life long friend, working in Graphite and Colored Pencil doing "Trompe L'oeuil" ( fool the eye). His technique involved actually building his still life subject matter from feathers, bones, rusted metal, wood etc. and spending countless hours meticulously drawing these "set ups" in great detail. Eventually after years of drawing this way, the process of building these set ups became more enjoyable than actually drawing them. He found that he could express himself from a deeper place using three dimensional material. Thus began a love affair with collecting the "stuff" of everyday life, ( you should see his studio), and trying to transform it into something more than its original intent.
Don taught Graphite Drawing, Colored Pencil, Collage and Found Object Construction at the NH Institute of Art for 11 years --- an experience which cemented his love of sharing knowledge of technique and inspriration with anyone willing to do the same.
Today, Don lives with his inspiring wife Bev in Epsom, NH where they have owned and operated TEAMWORK DENTAL STUDIO for the past 9 yrs. He has his studio in the house and the country setting provides endless raw materials for his artwork. He has three wonderful adult, married children who are a constant source of joy and support.
Here are some other sites you may like to visit:
www.ClaudetteGammon.com
