Drew Gaffney

Drew is an award-winning, contemporary American painter known for his brightly colored Abstract Expressionist acrylic paintings. His work attempts to create an enjoyable and thoughtful, and sometimes dramatic experience for the viewer in which they are drawn into a world of color, texture and mood. He's inspired by the classic "Abstract Expressionists" and "Color Field" painters from the 20th Century. Drew has sold work internationally (7 countries so far) and has been painting and drawing since he was a teenager. His most recent solo show was in 2012, in Washington, DC. He has participated in many juried, group shows. Carl Belz (director emeritus of the Rose Art Museum) described one of his award-winning paintings: "Abstract art bespeaks freedom, for artist and viewer alike, but the best of it recognizes that freedom meaningfully exists only within limitations, thus the balance between spontaneity and order in this painting. As in life, so in art." Today, Drew makes affordable art pieces with acrylics, ink and plaster. Drew's art is 'jazzy'—his paintings express and convey emotion, are typically bright and are up-beat. He wants the viewer to feel something. Yet, he typically doesn't title his pieces so that the viewer or buyer are not prejudged as to the intended emotion. His work is very colorful and has a strong graphic quality to its abstract nature. The visual elements and textures of flowers, architecture, fabrics, gardens and cityscapes are the raw ingredients that drive his inspiration, and they are often from his own photography. With each piece he aims to create something dramatic and interesting. Several artists and architects (mainly 20th Century Abstract and Abstract Expressionist painters) have long inspired his creativity including Richard Diebenkorn, Willem de Kooning, Jules Olitski, Franz Kline, Clyfford Still, Gerhard Richter, Joan Mitchell, Jackson Pollock, Richard Meier, Santiago Calatrava, Robert A.M. Stern and Jack Tworkov.