Meet Independent Artist & Small Business Owner David McPhee
After two Army tours in Iraq and another seven years in Afghanistan working for USAID projects, David started painting as a means of processing his experiences in 2007. Shortly thereafter David began gifting his artwork to friends and family. As David developed his skills drawing and painting, he opened an Etsy shop in 2013.
David is strongly committed to helping fellow veterans and veteran causes, including veteran homelessness and getting the care and assistance they have earned and deserve. As a means of assisting these worthy causes, Little River Artworks donates 10% of its gross revenue to Veteran focused charities and causes.
The Inspiration Behind Little River Artworks
David’s beautiful scenic watercolor, acrylic, and oil paintings are heavily inspired by his childhood and lobstering in Maine. He aspires to capture the personality and character of the working waterfront, and the people and small communities who have lived there for generations. David brings that into his painting style, whether that artwork is of boats in a harbor, a landscape, a seascape, or wildlife. That beautifully rough character of the sea and nature is imprinted on him and the artwork he loves to create.
An Authentic Approach to Art
David strives to capture the experience of the scenes in his artwork. By learning through painting outdoors, he develops his palette using pigments that mix colors that are true to that scene. Rather than heavily abstracting his style, he focuses on capturing his interpretation of the authentic beauty of the people and places reflected in his paintings.
From watercolor paintings of boats on the water to acrylic and oil prints of the night sky, David has an authentic style that captures his experience in a moment in time. He wants people to see the beauty in the truth of a landscape or seascape. He wants people to experience the genuine feeling of that subject in that moment.
Going forward, David is working on developing his skills in portraiture so he can include more aspects of people who live and work outdoors. He also hopes to capture the authenticity of other places he paints. David is also developing his practice to include more wildlife in his works.
David is also a member of the American Watercolor Society and Brevard Watercolor Society