David Mccrae

I started learning the process of photography from my grandparents in Colorado, both dedicated amateur photographers and naturalists. Process was left behind for theory while studying art history at the University of California, San Diego, although chemistry and the beach kept interfering. 

With the arrival of the digital darkroom at our Berkeley home in 2000, I began working under the tutelage of Jules Spilman, a painter and sculptor trained at the Chicago Art Institute. He offered me my first show in 2004 at his Gallery and Salon, and so a new phase began.

The history of photography is replete with examples of image capture without a camera. My present focus, 'From a Scanner, Darkly,' began when I had no time to work with film. Instead, a scanner and a computer became my substitute for photosensitive materials and a darkroom. 

The subject matter comes from the pantry and the garden. Food and flowers; simple subjects but not mundane, for they feed the body and the mind.

Another series of images, 'Unpacking:' started when we relocated from Berkeley to Seattle. While unwrapping newsprint from the dishes, I noticed intriguing shapes and shadows. These images are the result of that observation. Both portraits and landscapes are abstract, encouraging viewers to project their own interpretations of the 'sitter' or the 'location' rather than looking at yet another photograph of a person or place. 

I now use both analog and digital image capture, with and without camera and lens. Images are printed digitally with pigment inks on archival paper.

Education:

Art History, University of California, San Diego.

Awards & Distinctions:

2019 Associated Arts of Ocean Shores Juried. Show, 6/19, Honorable mention.
Tsuga Gallery Summer Show, 7/19, Honorable mention.
2016 Bank of the Arts National Juried Exhibition, 11/16, 1st Place.
311 Gallery 2016 Photography Juried Art Show, 10/16, 2nd Place.
Arts of the Terrace, 9/15, 1st Place, Photography.
Associated Arts of Ocean Shores ,4/15, 45th. Annual Juried Art Show.
1st Place, Photography.
Valdosta National Juried Competition, 1/13, 4th Place.
Estes Park Art Center; Lines into Shapes, 11/2010, Best of Show Photography.
Sequim Arts 34th Annual Juried Art Show, 5/2010, Best of Show.
Monroe Arts Council Arty Gras, 2/2008, Best of Show Photography.
 

Exhibitions:

Juried Competitions:
37th Annual Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts September 2019.

Photography at the Emerald; 4th Annual Show September 2019.

Specto Art Space; Landscape September 2019.

Anacortes Arts Festival July -–August 2019.

Allied Arts Annual Juried Show July 2019.

2019 Associated Arts of Ocean Shores Juried Show June 2019
Honorable mention.

Tsuga Gallery Summer Show June - July 2019
Honorable mention.

41st National Juried Exhibition; Larsen Gallery March -–April 2019.

2019 Annual WA State Juried Art Competition January – February 2019.

Salann Magazine – Inaugural Edition February 2019.

24th Arts in Harmony 2019 Annual International Show January – February 2019.

Alex Ferrone Gallery, Small Bites, Small Works November 2018 – January 2019.

In the Fields: Botanical Lore – Arts Benicia November 2018.

Core New Art Space: Flora & Fauna September – October 2018.

2018 Roslyn Art Fest August 2018.

311 Gallery Annual Flowers & Gardens Juried Show July 2018.

Tsuga Fine Arts Pacific Northwest Summer Invitational June 2018.

Edmonds Arts Festival, Edmonds WA June 2018.

Associated Arts of Ocean Shores April 2018
48th Annual Juried Art Show.

Specto Gallery; Black & White March 2018.

Flora 2018, Columbus State University March 2018.

23rd Arts in Harmony 2018 Annual International Show February – May 2018.

The 2018 CVG Show January 2018.

Valdosta National 2018 January 2018.

Las Lagunas Gallery; Botanik November 2017.

Ciel Gallery; I Spy with my Little Eye October 2017.

30th Annual Northern National Art Competition October 2017.

2nd Annual Photography at the Emerald. September 2017.
Honorable Mention.

311 Gallery 2017 Annual Flowers & Gardens. Juried Show September 2017.

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts September 2017.

Alex Ferrone Gallery July 2017.
First Place.

Allied Arts Association's Annual Juried Show July 2017.
Merit Award.

Tsuga Fine Arts Pacific Northwest Summer Invitational July 2017.

Plymouth Center for the Arts June 2017
The Fine Art of Photography 2017.

Edmonds Arts Festival, Edmonds, WA June 2017.

Landscapes 2017, Exhibition at The Center for May-July 2017
Fine Art Photography.

2017 Northwest Fine Arts Competition May 2017.

EAFA Open Juried Abstract Show December 2016.

2016 Bank of the Arts National Juried Exhibition November 2016.
1st Place.

Mountlake Terrace Arts of the Terrace October 2106.

311 Gallery 2016 Photography Juried Art Show October 2016.
2nd Place.

Manifest Gallery, OH / Real-photo September 2106.

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts September 2016.

Emerald Art Centers Annual Fall Photography Exhibition August 2016.
Honorable Mention.

Tsuga Americana and Independence Day July 2016.

Edmonds Arts Festival June 2016.

Associated Arts of Ocean Shores April 2015
46th Annual Juried Art Show.

Texas National Competition & Exhibition April 2016.
2016 Amblewood Gallery International Exhibition March 2016.
"Affinity"

Anacortes Art in Bloom January 2016.

Mountlake Terrace Arts Commission September 2015.
Arts of the Terrace 2015.
1st Place, Photography. 

Associated Arts of Ocean Shores April 2015
45th Annual Juried Art Show.
1st Place, Photography.

Kitsap Arts and Crafts Art Show 2014 July 2014.
Second Place, Photography.

Valdosta National 2013 Juried Show January 2013.
Fourth Place.

Estes Park Art Center; Lines into Shapes November 2010
First Place - Photography.

Sequim Arts 34th Annual Juried Art Show May 2010.
Best of Show.

Monroe Arts Council Arty Gras February 2008
Best of Show – Photography.
 

Artistic Influences:

Tags:

Still life, flowers, food, abstract.