About the Artist

“There has always been a certainty of who I am and what I want to be.”

As a young child, I enjoyed working with my hands but my particular fascination was drawing. I drew on whatever flat surfaces. I could get my hands on. My parents tried to steer me away from walls by giving me coloring books, although it concerned them that I didn’t color inside the lines. In subsequent years, I developed the skill to color more neatly, but at least in a figurative sense, I still want to color and think outside the lines.

I didn’t come to my view of the world in one easy step. As a child, my imagination was drawn to "Robotech." wars that became fantasies on paper. It probably seemed strange to other children who preferred to play “real” games, but I preferred the stories that came from my own head.. A couple of years later, I became fascinated by medieval fantasies of love and war populated dragons and chivalrous knights. My artwork and imagination now centered on these ideas. My vivid and innovative imagination has revealed itself to be a gift and the ability to express my gift has involved years of continual learning.

When I entered high school, my skills had advanced enough that I was allowed to participate in a gifted and talented program for artists. My teacher Oroon Barnes was a significant influence on my development as an artist. He taught me to respect the ideals of focus and attention to detail. Ooron would say, “If you look at a picture as an entirety, you will be overwhelmed by the details.” He then told me to make an image in my mind, realize what is important about the image, separate the details and focus on recreating them on paper. If I worked with the smaller details, it would ensure that I would never underestimate the beauty of smaller things. Beauty can be found in your mind, in every image that you capture, and in every small speck that comprises the larger image. Ooron instructed me to draw within a one-inch square, with the details of what I found in one section of a larger image. As I continued to work with squares, I found that the focus I paid to the detail within the square; I could pay to larger areas of space. Slowly, I expanded the focal point and produced larger work with the same level of detail. To this day, it really doesn't matter what type of task is placed in front of me, I will create on a napkin, a computer screen or a ten-foot wall with the same degree of dedication to detail. Ooron’s teaching were not limited to detail and focus, they included color theory and composition. He challenged me with his thoughts and allowed me to gain confidence with each success that I made. I took this confidence with me when enrolling in an advanced placement program for the arts at the Visual Art Center in Kensington, Maryland.

After graduating from high school in 1993, I took some general education courses at Montgomery College. In addition to these courses, I took a wide variety of fine arts classes at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, in Washington, D.C. Over a two-year period, I studied the technique and theory of painting, illustrative drawing, holography, neon, kinetics, ceramics, optics and animation using a Silicon Graphics work station. I was also introduced to two and three-dimensional as well as time-related art.

In the fall of 1993, I gained admission to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. By senior year, I was recognized by school officials for my dedication to the art field and awarded with the use of a private studio and individualized advanced instruction with well-known Artists such as, Ray Asheta, Susan Coffee and Dan Gustan. My instruction with them allowed me to gain knowledge of the “classical” art forms. By recreating styles used in the past, I developed my own artistic identity.

Eventually I developed a style that recalls the “Chicago Imagist,” school. Defining characteristics are an appreciation for non- traditional subjects drawn from fantasy and distortion of color. My painting also encompasses the stylistic presence of “(San Francisco) Bay Area Figurative Art,” with my use of expressionist images of the black outlined figures, thick use of paint and broad-brush strokes of color.

I have discovered that learning cannot only be achieved with books, but also in our travels and with life experiences. Art should be a compilation of your life, the imaginary seen in your travels and of feelings that are produced. The more I understand about other cultures in its relation to my culture, the more I understand the cultural presence in my style of art. My environment, whether it is small or large, effects my creations. My travels and experiences led me to form understandings of the following experiences; the modern American military experience, the linguistics of the French and Russian languages, the roots of the pottery trade in western Africa, the loss of romantic love and then gaining the love for my newborn niece. I use my art as an expression of empathy, passion, love, grief and for hopes for the future.

After graduating from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I felt a need to find a way to make my artwork more visible. An idea came to me, my artwork needed to move from the canvas to the computer screen. The World Wide Web was the perfect vehicle for this visibility. I wanted to place digital images of my paintings, ceramics and sculptures on a personal website. I wanted to see my ideas created and implemented graphically, but new skills needed to be learned in order to do this. I bought a book on HTML and Macromedia graphics. I decided that I would use my free time to become efficient in using these software packages. This is why I say that progression and learning are important in every field, especially as an artist. It will always be a priority of mine to stretch the boundaries of my skills. It is my belief that an artist should be willing to evolve their use of art forms in order to meet the needs and desires of his or her audience. In other words, as an artist, I am only as good as the tools I utilize.

My post graduation employment was my first opportunity to learn what it means to be a working artist and employee. I found this to be a massive change from the life I had known as a student. even though the In the past, during my many years of education, I learned about being an individual and about competition with other young artists. Then, as a civilian contractor of a military agency called "DARPA,” I learned about aspects of being a career oriented graphic artist and to work in a group setting. In addition, I became acquainted with modern technical applications, such as Macromedia Director, in correlation to its use in television production studios. As a personal recollection of my job description, I will say that I designed and worked on giving an "artist" touch to artificial intelligence, advanced logistics and human identification security systems. I take great pride in formal art training that I gained while employed with DARPA and the projects I endeavored in. I contributed my artistic abilities to help improve the "visual face" of U.S. military. While working for DARPA, I learned the value of marketing and multimedia and it’s roles in the overall public relations of a corporation or branch of government.

A few years later, my contract expired and I was offered a position at Litton Potomac Research Corporation. My job title was Senior Graphic Artist of the Centralized Proposal Department. My position entailed supervising the twenty-four hour operating proposal department. With assistance from the Proposal team, we created original cover graphics, brochures and posters on an extremely short time frame. Products were prioritized, given a deadline, completed in a manner consistent with quantity and quality requirements. Completion of these designs also required me to synchronize schedules of the printing department and with external managers from vendors, in order to make award-winning proposals.

Currently, I am attending the University of Maryland, seeking a Masters Degree in the hopes to create a forum for my creativity in the world of photography and mixed media. My studies contain a strong dose of technology which is fitting because i aspire to position myself as a post industrial contemporary artist.

When I am not fully absorbed in my studies, I practice KEMPO/KENPO and Sword fighting. I seem to have struck a chord working with my photography in the local area. The best examples of my current work are found in what I call the Reflection Series and which can be seen on facebook (search for Demian Wolfe).

My central idea is to expose a wide range of emotions starting with sexual and emotional needs on subjects that are considered taboo as well as fear, anxiety, and reticence and tension.