Douglas Malone
Biography and Artist Statement
Douglas Malone specializes in figurative drawing and painting. He studied at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC, and the Academy of Art in San Francisco, where he earned an M.F.A. degree in painting in 1998. His work has garnered numerous accolades, has been published in books and magazines, and has been exhibited in venues throughout the United States. His work is held in private collections in the U.S. and Europe. Douglas taught drawing and design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit from 2007 to 2022.
Douglas’ paintings and drawings often feature a single figure in a self-consciously isolated environment, or multiple figures existing in close physical proximity and yet separated by a vast emotional distance. While often placed in introspective, self-absorbed, or guarded postures, the figures are nonetheless exposed and vulnerable, laid bare to scrutiny.
Accurate draftsmanship, with an emphasis on anatomical detail, is the fundamental basis of Douglas’ work. He regularly works with live models in the classroom, and will also use himself as a model. Extensive experience drawing from life and teaching anatomy allows him to make expressive choices in rendering the human form. Selectively emphasizing certain muscles or prominent tendons, for example, can convey a feeling of tension that resonates with the viewer.
Although representational, Douglas’ works are not necessarily intended to portray specific people, events, or circumstances, nor are they necessarily designed to convey specific narrative content. Instead, they retain an element of calculated ambiguity that heightens the mystery of the pictures, precluding them from being easily identified with a specific time, place, or situation. The works are carefully arranged cohesive formal constructions in which all the pictorial elements are deliberately designed to relate consistently and satisfy a sense of balance, harmony, and completeness.
Contact: DouglasMalone@comcast.net
