Shown above are two ballpoint pen drawings from David Mayhew, a highly original artist located in Sacremento, California. David’s works veer from sophisticated abstractions to cartoon lunacy to poetic visionary to elaborate displays of supreme draughtsmanship, always revealing a unique vision and the sensibility of a true outsider.

David Mayhew started creating art when he was very young. “I started recognizing the “narrative” of what was around me when I was a kid, meaning how clichés, images, music and architecture actually conveyed feeling and history. As a child I liked to copy photographs, but didn’t really think about anything being “art” until my late teens. My first painting class was at Sacramento City College with Larry Weldon. People in class were telling me my paintings were unique. I guess that’s when my first “art awareness” happened.”

For Mayhew, the creative process starts with thinking out the narrative for the piece, deciding what the piece is about and how that is going to take physical shape. “I often like to paint on a surface that already has something on it, which can trigger a direction for the painting and balances the planned part of the painting with spontaneity.” Says Mayhew.

David Mayhew’s work has placed into the California State Fair juried show three times, and has been included in two Crocker-Kingsley juried exhibits at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. Mayhew currently is working on a large commissioned piece and on a biblical allegory painting, based on the Job story.

For more information and further inquiries of David Mayhew, please contact HaveMuse.