July 2007 Interview of D. Loren Champlin

July 2007 Interview of the artist D. Loren Champlin

What is your birthplace/nationality? Pittsburgh, PA

What are your most profound memories of growing up?

Being the youngest child in a family of 3 boys and a girl often I felt rather left out. My father working very hard to support us, I rarely saw him and never felt I had much in common with him. My mother was always busy volunteering and pursuing her Spanish dreams probably contributed the most to my passion for art, nature, spirituality, and generally who I am today. My brothers and sister were much older than I, we had our close moments, but usually I was too young to play in their games or really share any companionship with. My mother was always a good friend, and we would sit at the kitchen table when she got home and talk for an hour or so over coffee.

My earliest profound memories were of going to St. Jude Children’s Hospital week after week when I was very young and very ill. I think that gave me a deep seated need of spirituality in my life and made me appreciate how ephemeral life can be and how important it is to appreciate life for the moment.

I was always an industrious child, sold bunnies on the side of the road. In the 5th grade I actually saved up enough money for my first horse which I bought and cared for with the money I earned. It was also then that I had my first girlfriend so to speak, it was quite plutonic but so memorable sitting on her front porch drawing horses and playing soccer. From that point on, most of my plutonic friends, interesting enough, really in my youth were women, sharing a love for horses and art, things that boys of that age seldom cared much for.

I started working at the age of 14 for a veterinarian, cleaning the kennels and such. That enabled me to continue to care for my horse and a gave me a sense of pride.

In high school, I had very few friends, but the ones I had were always older than I was. So schooldays were very lonely and feeling more like an observer looking through a glass seeing the other kids but never really felt a kinship with my high school peers. I would eat lunch at the top of the vocational building alone looking through the window staring at the big oak tree outside dreaming of horses and of seeing my friends at the barn. After school, I would go to work, then head straight to the barn where we would ride our horses, staring at the stars, talking, laughing, and drawing often staying out there until 2 or 3 in the morning. I never really did feel like a boy in high school just ambivalent in sexual orientation really.

My first and only high school art teacher, Almeda Zent, I owe greatly in teaching me the fundamentals of art and encouraging me to grow as an artist. By far she has been the best teacher I have ever known, encouraging her students to learn from others, but that real art comes from the soul and from within. She taught the basics of composition, line, and color, but more importantly encouraged her students to paint from the heart and with passion.

What family stories/personal experiences affected you most profoundly?

As far as personal experiences go, there are really two that affected me the most profoundly.

The first was confirmation into the Catholic church. It is perhaps the hardest moment to describe in words since I was raised as a Christian anyway - even went to a parochial school for a few years. The Catholic church has a sense of tradition, symbolism, and spirtuality that so many Protestant churches lack and have forgotten. It is more than just preaching or a social gathering. It was and is a powerful component of my life.

The second most profound change in my life was finding my wife Jean. So magical those days were in Martin. I felt so complete with her and swooned by every moment of her company. We met each other at the barn and got married by aloping with one another by a Baptist preacher/County commissioner at a feed store. When I dream of a successful life, I dream of those days in Martin. We were dirt poor, but had each other and that is all that mattered. So often nowadays, the drudgery of day to day life, poor decisions, and hard times mire those magical moments; but, when I dream of success, I dream of those magical moments.

How has your culture of origin influenced your artwork?

My culture of origin is largely Norwegian - actually my grandmother and grandfather spoke Norwegian sometimes when we were kids so we wouldn’t know what they were talking about, and every Christmas we would have a traditional Norwegian Christmas with them.

In high school, I had the opportunity to live in Risoer, Norway for a while. I traveled throughout Norway in that time and visiting Lillegard park and the Munch museum did have a major impact on my artwork. I really loved the expression of Lillegard’s figurative sculptures and Munch’s use of color. I would definitely say that the experience has shaped some of my artistic vision as well as my political ideals. I loved Norway with a passion and even seriously contemplated immigrating there although Maine is quite similar to the coast of Norway in many, many ways and getting my wife on a plane would take a small miracle.

Have there been any dramatic events in your life that have changed/shaped your art?

The biggest dramatic event that resulted in a change in my art was in Dec. 1998 when my wife and I moved to Maine from Knoxville, TN. Living in the city and graduate school was grueling and miserable so my work was a lot darker then. It was when we moved to Maine, that my work became brighter and more fluid and in my humble opinion better. Although some people like my earlier works, I believe that it was really after that point that my style really matured.

What was the hardest point in your artistic journey?

The first is the realization that artists have an innate need to create that cannot be suppressed or ignored no matter how successful or unsuccessful that your art may be and to stop painting for any length of time is quite detrimental to your mental health.

The other difficult point in my artistic journey and perhaps the hardest is how hard my wife has had to work allow me to pursue my career as an artist. It is a fact that I am immensely blessed and grateful for that she has endured the good times as well as the very difficult times. At one point in time she actually worked three jobs so that I could continue to paint.

And another hard point in my artistic career and one that most artists face is that many people look at the artistic journey as a hobby, and I see it as a passion and a career. Fortunately, my wife has always been very supportive.

What was the most gratifying experience for you as an artist?

The most gratifying experience for me as an artist was getting on the cover of the Dec. 15, 1996 issue of the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine. Oftentimes I look at that triumph as a point of inspiration.

The other gratifying point as an artist was devoting full time to my artistic career and having the support of my wife in doing so.

What would you like your art to accomplish?

I think my artist’s statement, which you should have a copy of on file, says most of what I would like my art to accomplish, and an artist’s triumph is when other people “get it” so to speak and understand what you are trying to say with paint and canvas.

I am also a full time stay at home dad taking care of my 4 year old son, my wife works away from home. My artistic dream is to have my wife to have to work less so that we can spend more time together as a family and in general travel more.

I would also love to exhibit my work more in New York and in Europe.

What do you believe makes your art stand out in the art world?

This seems to be a loaded question lol since artists are so very opinionated about what is “good art” and what is “bad art.” I would have to say quite simply that my bold use of line and colour and tremendous amount of motion and emotion on the canvas makes my art stand out in the art world.


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