David Fowler is one of the featured artist at this year’s Art and Soul Festival happening in downtown Wichita Falls on June 24th. I sat down and talked with him about his life in art.
When did you start with art? “I always kind of doodled and drew pencil on paper. When I was a kid, I would 
draw cars. In high school, I was a part of a really good art program” David attended high school in Oklahoma where he met two teachers that helped him focus more on himself, as well as his passions. “I had a bad attitude through high school, but one of my coaches and my art teacher stuck with me and cared about me. They encouraged me to straighten up and I really respected them for that, for just shooting straight with me”. The art teacher saw something in David and paid for his subscriptions to art magazines, helped him work with different mediums of art and took him to art shows and museums. This focus helped David branch out and encouraged him to find his niche.
He took to oil painting. “That’s what I enjoyed the most, just the flexibility of being able to easily mix and customize colors. I never really liked acrylics at the time but everything kind of 180’ed… Now I don’t touch oils and I paint with acrylic,” Fowler explained.
Out of high school, David joined the Marine Corp and dropped art. From there he went on to play music in bands so he never had time for his former passion. Years went by and as the music faded he started drawing again, this time with colored pencils and he eventually landed a job as a tattoo artist. He started an apprenticeship in Ft. Worth but the late night hours made it difficult to keep up with his son’s school, so he eventually had to quit 
but returned to painting. “It was a good transition from the tattooing into the painting. I now like bold lines and the bold, contrasting colors that are easier to get with acrylic paints,” he stated.
Art proved to be therapeutic for David. “It was like an outlet. You can kind of daydream and not stress. It’s kind of a release to calm myself down. You can put your head phones on and you’re focused on that one piece,” he went on to say.
So about five years ago, he began actually doing them professionally by taking on commissions and selling his art. He’s done murals for Stone Oven Pizza, Fuzzy’s, and he’s working on some pieces for other businesses downtown. You can also check out his recent art for the city because he worked on the theme for this year’s Art and Soul Festival, where his design was inspired by a recent trip to New Orleans. “Art just oozes from New Orleans. I love it and always find inspiration there. I started taking pictures of the landscape, buildings, the statues, and the trolleys which inspired the poster for this year.” This fits because the big band this year at the festival is Big Sam’s Funky Nation, a jazz band from the Big Easy area.
David will also have his art on display at the event, so go by and see it for yourself. Tell him ‘Hello’ from The Hub.
– James Cook
