Don Edwards Gallery

Don Edwards

A Chat with Don Edwards

What is your career and current job title?

Don Edwards: I am mostly retired. I do consult with the Louisiana Department of
Health investigating Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels. I've been doing that
type of work for over 10 years since my retirement. It is very rewarding to me.

Describe your art and its unique qualities.

Don: My art is very eclectic in subject. My wife and I travel a good bit and I take my
sketch book and camera with me everywhere! I see a lot of things that I consider
compelling as a challenge to my painting skills. Most of my productions are Plein
Aire, which means outdoors. I’d define my work as mostly architectural or landscape.
I’m nut over the beauty of nature. My work, while not unique, is somewhat different. I
am painting my impression of the subject and because my chosen medium -
watercolor dries fast outside, I have to strip off all the frills and get the job done!

How long have you been working in this discipline?

Don: I've been drawing since 2000, when I picked up a coy of, “Drawing on the Right
Side of the Brain, by Dr. Betty Edwards (no relation), to give me something to do
while recovering from by-pass surgery. After a couple of years drawing, I felt the need
for color to add liveliness to the scene. I've had two 4 day courses in watercolor
locally and attended a workshop in Georgia last year. Watercolor, for me, is where the
“action” is. It’s fast and offers a tremendous challenge.

Why do you create art?

Don: I’m not sure that I’m creating anything! I’m trying to copy what I see in nature
and to inspire viewers to fill in the blanks – we all do that anyway.

Do you create your art form with an exact message you want the viewer to receive?

Don: I certainly am not trying to create a message. I think art should just be enjoyed.
Viewers, I’m convinced, enjoy filling in what I've left out. People love to do that, its
puzzle solving for them and I don’t know anyone who doesn't enjoy a puzzle.

What is the favorite part of your endeavors?

Don: I think that my favorite part of the effort is challenging the viewer. I love it when
they say, “What is that person doing?” or “What is that?” and I can turn the question
back by saying “What do you see? What do you think they are doing in this painting?
I love the stories they tell me about my paintings.

Are there any other comments you would like to include?

Don: If an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, I’m doomed, because this endeavor is all
consuming and my mind is running in idle all the while. I can paint for a 2-hour stretch
and can’t remember anything I thought of. You know, that’s the whole premise of the
right side of the brain. After a career of engineering electrical equipment and
processes, and using the left side of the brain exclusively, I was ready for this. I wish
everyone had this hobby. Early on, I started painting a series on the old courthouse
of Mississippi. There are fewer than 90 and I've painted about 20 of them. While doing
that, I got sidetracked and wrote a historical picture book regarding the Seats of
Chancery of Mississippi. While the book is written, complete with color pictures of all
the old buildings and I've passed a lot of pleasant time, the book is still unpublished,
like many old masters.