A Portrait of the Artist: David Terrar

David Terrar is a painter based in Damascus who is entranced by all that the Chesapeake Bay has to offer. He paints the boats of the people who live on the bay and make their daily living from crabbing and the water.

"I don't like to paint yachts and luxury boats," he said. "I prefer to focus on boats that are used to make a living."

Terrar was not always a painter. Like many artists, he was drawn to art when he was young and spent much of his time drawing, but he studied political science and and French in college at the Benedictine College of St. Leo in St. Leo, Florida.

"Like any kid I drew a lot in school. My teachers noted that I was better at drawing than most of the other students. In college, Paul Tennis, a Benedictine monk who lived in a monastery in Florida, took me under his wing and taught me a lot."

In graduate school he went on to International Management and received an MBA. His degree and led him to work in 38 different countries, including Turkey, France, Algeria, Guinea, West Africa, Canada, The Phillipines, Spain and Brazil.

"I worked in human resources administration for engineering and construction companies," he reported. "I left home at 18 to see the world and returned to Maryland at 40."

Terrar considers himself and Impressionist painter. For a short period of time, he studied art in France at what was then the Museum of Impressionist Art. There he gained an appreciation for the work of Cezanne, Corot and Pisarro. His current influences include R.C. Gorman, Emile Gruppe, Walter Hensche and Birger Sandzen.

"Gorman worked with Navajo women. The simplicity in his work is fantastic. Gruppe is a 1900s artist who painted boats and maritime scenes. I wished I had studied with Hensche, but I never had the opportunity, and Sandzen is a Swedish artist who uses a lot of mauves, purples and teal greens in his work. These have inspired my latest works," said Terrar who also works in gold leaf to render light in his landscapes.

"My favorite painting is always whatever I am working on at the moment," said Terrar who paints on a comission basis these days. "I paint a lot of landscapes, water scenes on the Chesapeake Bay showing marshes and vegetation. I don't like to work from photographs so I mostly paint outdoors. Sometimes, when I can't paint outside, I do quick value sketches and bring them back to the studio."

Terrar turned to painting after a long career in human resources administration after a series of nearly fatal health problems. During recovery, he spent a lot of time idling and thinking over what the doctors had said to him.

"They kept referring to the golden hour, which I think meant the last hour of life to them. I would spend a lot of time looking out my hospital window and noticing the shift in light at sunset. It had a golden glow to it, so I took the golden hour of medical terms and put it into painting."

Since returning to the United States, Terrar has held various jobs. One of these entailed being in charge of a refugee program in Washington, DC. One of his clients, a Russian Orthodox priest who had experience with gold leaf painting, taught Terrar how to work in gold leaf.

"The price of gold has gone up tenfold since ten years ago," said Terrar who uses 23 Carat gold in his paintings. "This means that the price of my paintings also goes up."

When asked what keeps him painting each day, Terrar responded:

"It's something very basic and intangible. We are given a glimpse of beauty from time to time, and it's our duty to share it with others."

Terrar's work is on view at The Arts Barn from March 25, 2011.

To find out more about David Terrar, click here.

To find out more about The Arts Barn, click here.