Dave Wertz

After spending the last decade or so immersed in the world of 3-D art, I felt compelled to express myself in a different medium. I heard all of the usual voices in my head and ignored them all. I came up with a plan and started setting down the limits I would impose on this new mode of expression: no brushes or fancy canvases. I built wood panels and used industrial enamel paint (which only comes in 7 colors). My only tool is a plasterer's trowel. I have lots of painter friends so I knew enough to be afraid of "mud" and I have found that a solid position to work from. Using multiple layers and allowing them to dry between coats allows me to keep the mud at bay.



Oh the feeling of a big panel and lots of paint! It demands fast and serious painting. That fine line between where the painting comes to me, and where I manipulate the painting, is quick and fleeting, like the memory of a long ago lover. These paintings pull me in so tight I can feel every breath and then, like a fleeting dream, they are gone. Time to stop. It is all inspiration and intuition; the second I think about it, it is gone. Then it is time to clean up the paint and move on.



I love abstract, and these paintings are allowing me a voice to express ...

March 2011
Dialogue Gallery
Marginal Art
Roanoke, VA

April 2011
Open Studio Tour
One-man show
Roanoke, VA

May 2011
Love Your Mother Show
Sinkland Farms Artisan Center
New River Land Trust
Riner, VA

June 2011
Taubman Museum Art Show
Sculpture Division Award
Roanoke, VA

June 2011
Annapolis Art Show
Annapolis, MD

July 2011
Bath County Art Show
Sculpture Division Award
Hot Springs, VA

July 2011
Rockbridge Bath Art Show
1st Place Sculpture
Lexington, VA

August 2011
The La De Da Show
One-man show
Roanoke, VA

August 2011
Loveland Invitational Sculpture Show
Loveland, CO

September 2011
Lenoir Sculpture Celebration
Lenoir, NC

September 2011
Art On The Lawn
Pearisburg, VA
Honorable Mention

November 2011
Ferrum College
Ferrum, VA

November 2011
Piedmont Craftsmen Show
Winston-Salem, NC

December 2011
Intersection Gallery
Winston-Salem, NC

February 2012
Gallery C
Raleigh, NC
2 Person Show

March 2012
American Craft Council Show
Atlanta, GA

May 2012
Lynne Goldman Studio
Charlottesville, VA

September 2012
Tew Gallery
Atlanta, GA
2 person Show

December 2012
The Electric Company
Bedford, VA

January 2013
Art Works For Virginia
Richmond, VA
...