My Story
When I get an inspiration for a piece, it happens suddenly. The idea will emerge either from a conversation, a particular word, or from music. I see the beginning of the work, but I don’t always know what the complete piece will look like in the end—or what it will to take to get there. It has different phases, but when the painting begins to show its true purpose, it takes me to a place I could have never imagined. It’s as though I’m having a conversation with a lifelong friend. Art is never finished nor completed for me, each image is given new life, reemerges new with each individuals shared personal connection. I’ve discovered that each time I step back from my easel, each image reveals more of itself to my gazing eyes…
“If I can touch the heart of just one individual with my work… then I know it is well!”
Douglas J. Webster
Biography
Born in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania DouglasJ is an artist not trained by conventional means. Douglas shared his love of art with his five siblings, and began drawing and painting by eye, before the age of ten. Judging by his God-given talent alone, one would never know that Douglas had no professional training in the arts. He graduated Westinghouse high school in 1978 and briefly attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in the years to follow. When a lack of funding prevented Douglas from completing school at the Art Institute, he did not stop creating. He continued to hone his craft as a visual artist, and in the year 2000, expanded his artistry by completing an associates degree in Carpentry from Triangle Technical Institute of Pittsburgh. From there, DouglasJ expanded his creation to custom woodworking, while discovering how much richer his soft pastels images came to life on suede board. He does not view himself as a self-taught artist; rather, an artist who gives God all of the credit for his unique gifts.
Encore, Winner of The Emerging Artist Scholarship, The Jurors Choice Award & The People’s Choice Award, at the 2020 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh Pa.
DouglasJ takes great pride in the meticulous attention to detail he dedicates to each piece. Witnessing the joy, curiosity, and surprise that admirers express after having experienced DouglasJ’s work gives him a sense honor, which propels him to continue to create stunning images. The passion, emotions, persona, and character of each particular piece seem to draw the viewer into the moment that is taking place, or cause them to draw on their own personal memories.
Awards & Exhibits
Magee Women’s Hospital: Black History Month Art Exhibition 2019
Douglas’ work has been exhibited and awarded through various venues such as:
2020 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, “The Emerging Artist Scholarship”
2020 Juried Visual Art Exhibition, Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival Winner of “The People’s Choice Award”
2020 Juried Visual Art Exhibition, Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival Winner of “The Juror’s Choice Award.” Juror, Dan Leers (Curator of Photography at Carnegie Museum of Art)
Exhibition: Women of Vision, “Striving: Contemporary African American Artist of Pittsburgh”, John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Centre
Award: 2019 Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame Honoree
Exhibition: CAPA Gallery at the Creative and Performing Arts School in the Pittsburgh’s Cultural District
Exhibition: Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild: Seeing Jazz: A Tribute to the Masters & Pittsburgh Jazz Legends an exhibition by curator Gwen Black of New York.