Sun Pillar Painting

Davyd Whaley was born on December 6, 1967 and died on October 15, 2014. He was a resident artist at the Santa Fe Artist Colony in downtown Los Angeles, a member of the Los Angeles Art Association, had served in the Navy for four years from 1986-1990, and previously worked for 20 years as an electrical engineer before becoming a professional artist. He was admired and deeply loved by his colleagues, his friends, and his spouse, television director Norman Buckley. His time was split between being a full-time studio artist and teaching classes to the underprivileged in East LA. For the latter he was awarded 2012 Volunteer of the Year by the City Council of Los Angeles. Davyd Whaley was primarily self-taught, but studied painting at UCLA and also with Ronnie Landfield and Larry Poons at the Art Students League of New York. To create a thing of beauty, which may comfort or inspire others, Davyd believed, was his highest calling. The genesis of his art came from both nature and his surroundings but also from his dreams and subconscious. He was intrigued by Jungian psychology and his own desire to understand the unconscious mind through the study of dreams, symbols, art, and philosophy. In technical terms, Davyd was drawn to asymmetrical forms and the energy and power created by a 3-dimensional contrast of tactile depth, light and color Davyd’s paintings are defined by circuitous strokes, thick with color and texture. He painted in episodes, each work expressing a moment; each canvas a spiritual sequence, like dreams linked in our subconscious by ethereal themes or meanings. "We do not get all the information on how to live our everyday lives in just one dream. They come in short, little bursts, like thunderstorms. Just like storms, dreams have patterns if we piece them together. I paint as a way of expressing my feelings. People often say things like: 'I see flowers blooming' and I like that because I feel like my life is blooming. My paintings are often about the joy and the passion I feel. I hope that translates into a joyful experience for the viewer. But I also explore my dreams in my paintings, so I hope they evoke a meditative response, too.” Davyd cared deeply about the arts, arts education, and supporting the work of other artists. It is with this intention The Davyd Whaley Foundation seeks to continue his legacy.