Lone Star splendor
David Forks, Hill Country Creek, acrylic, 36 x 48.
This story was featured in the February 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
FOR DECADES David Forks enjoyed a thriving career in printing, illustration, and design, even running his own successful design firm for a time. But as the years passed by, Forks found it harder and harder to resist what he describes as a “passion burning inside” him to paint. Then, about 13 years ago, the untimely death of an older brother spurred Forks to take action. “I kept saying I’m going to be a painter,” says the San Antonio native. “That day comes when you have to do it or forget about it.”
-
- David Forks, Hill Country Spring, oil, 36 x 48.
-
- David Forks, Prickly Pear in Bloom, oil, 30 x 24.
-
- David Forks, Sunny Morning in the Bonnets, oil, 24 x 36.
Forks spent the next few years learning to paint with oils, turning to the backcountry of Texas for inspiration—landscapes “untouched by man” that he continues to portray today in both oils and acrylics. “I don’t paint many scenes that have roads or houses or windmills,” says the artist, who counts Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922) among his greatest influences. Like the famed Texas impressionist, who often painted en plein air, Forks creates realistic imagery using “as little detail as possible” to engage viewers’ imaginations.
-
- David Forks, The Light at the End of the Day (Carta Valley) oil, 30 x 40.
-
- David Forks, A Long View, oil, 16 x 20.
-
- David Forks, Bluebonnet Landscape, oil, 24 x 36.
Although he primarily works in his studio, the artist plans to do more on-location painting since moving from his longtime home in Houston to Del Rio, a small border town in the rugged, sparsely populated Trans-Pecos region. Some of Forks’ favorite locales are just a few hours away. “I can go west and be in Big Bend, or northeast and be in Hill Country,” he says. “It’s the perfect place to be geographically.” —Kim Agricola
Forks is represented by Dutch Art Gallery, Dallas, TX, and UGallery, San Francisco, CA.
-
- David Forks, Cactus and Oaks, oil, 11 x 14.
-
- David Forks, Into the Blues, acrylic, 36 x 48.
-
- David Forks, Spring Mix, acrylic, 35 x 48.
This story was featured in the February 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS
• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine
• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop
• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook