David French:
David was born in South Charleston WV in 1976. Throughout his childhood, he had a strong passion for drawing and painting. This drive began so far back that he would sell drawings of airplanes and monsters for a nickel or a dime, so that he could buy extra snacks in elementry school. After finishing high school, he took a couple years of engineering at UNCC. It was enough to make him understand his true calling. Shortly after, he began art classes, and began drawing people on the street, in coffee shops, or even in bars (anyone who would sit still for a while). After some time attempting to teach himself how to paint, he had the good fortune of running into Starr Davis, proffesional mural painter, and NoDa legend. For nearly 2 years he worked by her side. They painted over 20 murals.
When work was caught up, david shifted gears and tryed to take a lesson from the great masters: He went back to drawing and for 7 years did over 1500 works in charcoal (Van Gough, with advice from books and teachers, drew for 2 years before he picked up a paint brush).
From 2000-2003 David ran a gallery out of his house on NoDa gallery crawl nights. The avant-guard scene boasted clothlines full of drawings, a living room full of local art from floor to ceiling, up and coming musicians filling the air with music, and random acts such as flame jugglers, raku demonstrations, and phycodelic light shows in the trees. Creative loafing even gave it a "best bet" for your friday night.
Last August (2006) David's work culmulated to a one man show, where 365 works were on display. It was around this time that he started painting again and began his "Forever Charlotte" series that you can see displayed at the GREEN RICE gallery.
David is currently finishing his AFA at CPCC and lives in one of the crazy little houses in NoDa. He is available for commisions or lessons and can be reached through the gallery
