Doug’s years of art studies combined with his artisan skills have given rise to an inventive style that integrates oils and organic elements into unexpected three-dimensional studies of nature. “Everyday things move faster and faster with an increasing pressure to 'get things done' and all at the expense of merely appreciating life. My antidote to that inherent stress has been taking walks through the woods near my home. It’s a marvelous way to decompress and reflect on our relationship with the world around us. I’ve tried to capture that tranquility and peace-of-mind in my paintings and bring that feeling back indoors.”

The chain of barrier islands on the North Carolina coast known as the Outer Banks is more than 100 miles long and home to over 400 species of birds. It seemed only natural that “Natstracts” would evolve in this direction. 

Doug’s years of art studies, combined with his artisan skills, have given rise to multiple inventive styles that integrate mixed media, wood craft and organic elements into unexpected three-dimensional works. “My goal is to create interactive pieces that evoke joy and curiosity in the viewer.”  

Art inspires music and music inspires art. The feelings often manifest themselves in brushstrokes. 

'THE WHITE ALBUM' ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I remember that evening in December 1968 when my brother gave me my first copy of the Beatles’s White Album. I listened to it non-stop for days, blown away by the musical complexity and variety of songs, lyrics and instrumentation. It still holds a place of importance in my library of MP3’s, CD’s and vinyl. Like most artists, I often paint to music. The melodic energy seems to come out through the brushes. 
 

Several years ago, I had the idea of trying to combine those two creative forces more directly. Creating a tribute to the White Album seemed a fitting start. 

At the beginning of the project, I researched the band’s dynamics, creative process and their views of the world around them. Most of the songwriting was done in early 1968 while the Beatles were in Rishikesh, India, studying transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This was an extremely tumultuous time throughout the world and for them personally, and precipitated their eventual break-up in 1970. Many of the tracks reflect personal beliefs or incidents that occurred while they were in India. 

Each of my 6x6” paintings represent a specific track, either in name or essence. Some were easier to conceptualize than others. (If you’re mystified by my solutions, the Liner Notes provide a little insight to the rationale.) As an aside, I tried to incorporate different illustrative styles appropriate to the character of each song (Picasso, Seurat, Pollock, Magritte, Close, Bass, and others—with respect).

LINER NOTES
1. “Back in the U.S.S.R.” is a musical tribute to Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A.” while the chorus and background vocals pay homage to the Beach Boys’s “California Girls.” Mike Love of the Beach Boys also attended the same retreat in Rishikesh as the Beatles and contributed to the lyrics.

2. “Dear Prudence” is dedicated to Prudence Farrow, actress Mia Farrow’s sister, who was present when the Beatles went to India. Farrow became so serious about her meditation routine that she “turned into a near recluse” and rarely came out of the cottage she was living in. John Lennon wrote “Dear Prudence” as a simple plea to a friend to snap out of it and “come out and play.”

3. “Glass Onion” is John Lennon’s answer to those who looked for hidden meanings in the Beatles’s music. Deliberately filled with red herrings, obscure imagery and allusions to past works, the phrase “glass onion” has apt connotations of both transparency and multiple layers.

4. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is a tribute to the first internationally renowned Jamaican ska and reggae performer, Desmond Dekker, credited with bringing those styles of music to Britain and greatly influencing the early Beatles. A famous Bob Marley poster influenced my solution.

5. “Wild Honey Pie” is a sole performance by Paul McCartney. He said it was his desire to “just make something up.”

6. “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” was inspired by an American visitor to Rishikesh, Richard A. Cooke III, who departed for a tiger-killing spree before returning to the ashram to seek spiritual enlightenment. Lennon was mocking the absurdity of that behavior. As the song recounts, ”Bill” did take his mother along on the hunt.

7. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” has its roots in the Chinese I Ching, the Book of Change, the Eastern philosophy that whatever happens is meant to be, and that there’s no such thing as coincidence. George Harrison said, “I decided to write a song based on the first thing I saw upon opening any book, as it would be relative to that moment, at that time. I picked up a book at random, opened it, saw ‘gently weeps,’ then laid the book down again and started the song.”

8. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” was inspired by the title John Lennon saw on the cover of a magazine, The American Rifleman, in the lobby at Abbey Road. “I thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you’ve just shot something.”

9. “Martha My Dear” was written by Paul McCartney as a piano exercise. The lyrics refer to his Old English Sheepdog, Martha.

10. “I’m So Tired” was an open letter to Yoko Ono by John Lennon. It was written during a time he was particularly plagued by insomnia and loneliness.

11. “Blackbird” lyrics, written by Paul McCartney, were inspired by the late-1960’s civil rights movement in America, and are said to represent a typical black woman facing oppression in that era.

12. “Piggies” was written by George Harrison in 1966 as a comment on the banking industry and the white establishment. His mother contributed the line “What they need’s a damn good wacking,” while Lennon contributed the line, “Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.”

13. “Rocky Raccoon” is a tongue-in-cheek, almost cartoonish, one-act play about a love triangle in the old west. Rocky gets shot by his competitor, Dan, but survives with the help of Gideon’s Bible.

14. “Don’t Pass Me By” written by Ringo Starr refers to a slur by Paul McCartney about Ringo’s supposedly limited songwriting abilities.

15. “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” was written by McCartney after seeing two monkeys copulating in a street in Rishikesh. It’s a reflection on how cumbersome and complex human sexual relations tend to be when compared to other species.

16. “I Will” was written by Paul McCartney. The music came together fairly easily but the lyrics remained unfinished even as recording began back in London. It’s just a simple love song!

17. “Julia” was written by Lennon for his mother, Julia Lennon (1914–1958). It is also said to be a love song to Yoko Ono.

18. “Birthday” was made up on the spot during a recording session at Abbey Road. John Lennon later called it “the worst song the Beatles ever wrote.”

19. “Yer Blues” The Beatles were heavily influenced by American blues music, and this song is their tribute to “Sleepy John Estes,” one of the very early blues singers.

20. “Mother Nature’s Son” was written primarily by Paul McCartney. It was inspired by a lecture given by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi while the Beatles were in India. The same lecture also inspired Lennon’s unreleased song “Child of Nature”, a tune he later re-used for “ Jealous Guy.”

21. “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” There are two competing theories about this song: one is that John Lennon wrote it about his relationship with Yoko Ono; the second is that it refers to Lennon’s infatuation with heroin.

22. “Sexy Sadie” A disillusioned John Lennon wrote this after the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi allegedly made a sexual advance towards Mia Farrow who was also in Rishikesh with them. Lennon once said: “The song was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him, ‘Sexy Sadie,’ instead of (sings) “Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool of everyone.”

23. “Helter Skelter” A product of McCartney’s deliberate effort to create a sound as loud and dirty as possible, the song has been noted for both its “proto-metal roar” and “unique textures” and is considered by music historians as a key influence in the early development of heavy metal. Charles Manson told his followers that “Helter Skelter” was part of the Beatles’s coded prophecy of an apocalyptic war in which racist and non-racist whites would be maneuvered into virtually exterminating each other over the treatment of blacks and that Manson and his followers would emerge to rule over those who remained.

24. “Long, Long, Long” was the first of dozens of Harrison love songs that are ambiguous in that he could be singing to either his lady or to his Lord. The same beauty and mystical uncertainty is present in “Stonehenge”.

25. “Revolution 1” Inspired by political protests in early 1968, Lennon’s lyrics express doubt about some of the tactics. Lennon’s uncertainty about destructive change is revealed in the phrase “count me out” recorded differently as “count me out, in”. I tried to mimic the style of anti-war posters of the time, protesting the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

26. “Honey Pie” The song is a direct homage to the 1920’s British music hall style. It concerns a famed actress, called only by the term of endearment “honey pie,” who becomes a famous film actress in the United States, and her old lover who wishes for her to rejoin him in England.

27. “Savoy Truffle” Written by George Harrison, this song was supposedly inspired by Eric Clapton’s chocolate addiction and a tongue-in-cheek warning that he would lose all of his teeth if he didn’t find moderation.

28. “Cry Baby Cry” Lennon wrote the song in late 1967. The original lyrics were “Cry baby cry, make your mother buy” and was a comment on materialism.

29. “Revolution 9” The sound collage, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was primarily created by John Lennon with assistance from George Harrison and Yoko Ono. Lennon said he was trying to paint a picture of a revolution using sound. The composition was influenced by the avant-garde style of Ono. Jackson Pollock’s visual style seemed apropos.

30. “Good Night” John Lennon originally wrote the song as a lullaby for his five-year-old son Julian. It is the last song on the album. It is sung by Ringo Starr, the only Beatle to appear on the song.

Research credits: Wikipedia.com, BeatlesBible.com, Forbes.com, Allmusic.com and others

Doug usually never lacks ideas for projects, but those times that he does suffer “artist’s block” he looks to his favorite artists for inspiration. By paying homage to them, "I never fail to learn a new trick or technique that sends me back to my easel."

While spending many years as an advertising art director, Doug was required to create visuals in an unbelievably wide variety of styles. That allowed him to become comfortable in multiple mediums and genres. He continues to enjoy exploring fresh approaches to his art.