“Bobby” by David V. Gill

Themes of time and places remembered recur in acrylic paintings by David V. Gill, River City Art Association’s May artist of the month featured in the Vigo County Public Library at Seventh and Poplar streets in Terre Haute.

David has lived in the Midwest his entire life. The Danville, Illinois, native studied painting and art education at the University of Illinois before teaching art in three Illinois public schools. He later attended Northern Illinois University where he earned a Doctorate in art education.

David said his interests in computer-generated images, 3D modeling and animation, and video game creation shaped his research into what students learn about art using computer graphics technology. He taught student teachers of art for eight years at a regional university in Ohio before returning to K-12 teaching in Indiana.

In returning to painting after years studying computer art, David said he has rediscovered an interest in American Realist art, and the work of artists such as Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargent, and the Tonalist painters of the 19th century.

He also is inspired by the amateur photography of his grandfather, Paul B Hendrickson of Danville, done in the 1930s and ’40s, and seeks to find ways to incorporate those photographs into his paintings.

David’s library exhibit includes “Bobby,” a painting where part of the image takes place at a time in the past.

“Grandpa’s Negatives: Oil Station, Greenridge, 1938,” by David V. Gill

“I used one of my grandfather’s negatives as a reference for the middle section,” he said, “and one of my contemporary photographs of the same site for the full palette parts on the left and right.”

In his painting, “Grandpa’s Negatives: Oil Station, Greenridge, 1938,” David said he was trying to experiment with muted colors using a black and white photograph for reference.

Obviously, you have to guess about colors in the black and white scene, he added, “but there were some elements where I intuitively knew what those colors were, like the little flags hanging over the Dodge on the left.”

David currently resides in Clay City, Indiana, with his wife Susan, five hens, and their dog, Dug. He has been an RCAA member since fall 2016.

RCAA membership is open to any Indiana or Illinois artist age 18 and older. Members meet at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in the library. For more information, visit RiverCityArt.org or call vice president Todd Stokes at 812-232-0048.