David Hale
David’s Hands. Photo by: me.
Lyons, Colorado isn’t the type of place you’d expect to have a tattoo parlor/art gallery. It’s a town with just a few stoplights, restaurants, and is really only known for being a stop on the way to Estes Park. Before we get to this tattoo parlor and art gallery, we need to go to the rock shop across the street, where a little old lady with a Southern accent asks us a lot about the art we’re about to see. She tells me she likes my shoes and the three of us talk about the art we’re about to see with her. After that stop, we go across the street to meet one of my dad’s favorite artists- and now one of mine: David Hale.
David Hale’s art is simply astounding. Sharp and angled geometric patterns with flowing and graceful lines. All of them have such intricate patterns and it’s hard to not want to stare at them. There’s a different animal featured in each piece of Hale’s work. Rabbits, wolves, turtles, birds. It’s mesmerizing to look at, and it’s why there’s about 14 of his pieces in my household.
I met David Hale at his friend’s tattoo parlor/art gallery I mentioned before; Kris Davidson’s Solhawk. When you enter, it feels small and intimate. What I would describe to be an aged modern look is what greets you. Tall and curved ceilings with muted whites contrasted by aged, worn in floors and baseboards. It’s a reclaimed bank, so that explains the look. David’s art is hung up across the room. Woodcuts, originals, prints all filled with his intricate patterns and colors.
We meet David at a fold out table that’s covered in art prints given to those that purchased a ticket to the exhibit beforehand. I shake his hand and we spark a conversation, mainly about his ambulance turned camper. He tells us that he’s been painting little pieces of art based on where his family is camping, and he’s painting one of the ridge he sees outside his camping spot in Lyons. He also mentions we couldn’t meet up for a Zoom meeting, since he doesn’t own a smartphone. He introduces me to Kris and his son, Crow, who’s only 11 years old. He’s shy, but engaging with me and the other viewers of the exhibit. After looking around for a few minutes, talking some shop with Kris, David, and Crow, I sit down in the corner by some pieces of art with David, and we begin talking.
Just to start, where are you from and where did you grow up?
My home is Athens, Georgia which is where the University of Georgia is. Kind of Northeast Georgia. I was born in Virginia but I was raised my whole life through my teens years in a suburb of Atlanta. So Georgia basically, that’s as home as it gets.
He chuckles.
As a kid, what sorts of things were you interested in doing?
I spent a lot of time outside, we had a creek in the backyard, so I spent a lot of time in the creek. I was drawing all the time, of course. I played soccer, I really liked riding my bike, I got into mountain biking, then skating. A lot of the typical things. I spent a lot of my time in the dirty creek and in the acre of woods behind my house.
When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?
Really early. Really really early. I’ve got a grand-uncle, my grandfather’s brother, who was an artist. He’s passed since. He inspired me, having someone in the family that was actually an artist. He did watercolors and relief printmaking actually; with a linoleum block mostly. He was a truly amazing human being. He contributed to that.
When I was in my middle school years, I really wanted to be a cartoonist. You know, do cartoons in different ways. By the time I got to high school, I was fully committed. There was no question I was going to do anything else. I mean, I went through phases where I wanted to be a fighter jet pilot as a kid. Around 11- my son’s age now- I was pretty locked in to “this is what I’m going to do.”
What sorts of things influence your art?
A lot of things. Everything's an influence. That’s kind of what I’ve learned as an artist. You can’t really exclude as much as you would like sometimes. Art is so much sensitivity and reflection to your environment and experiences. Inevitably, I seek out specific influences but I also specifically exclude influences, too. I ingest very little media in things like this where it’s like everything is an influence. I directly find a lot of influence in the outdoors and spaces. Ironically, I also spend a lot of time contemplating human relationships when I’m working, too. It’s like a big art that heals the work that I make. Thinking about all these different processes where we go through individuals and relationships with other people. It’s kind of like an exchange there. I like birds and lately I’ve been inspired by those in particular. I’m seeing birds and thinking about birds and getting a strong urge to create. It’s so vast and close with influences, you know? There’s some things that get me really inspired.
David Hale (left) and me, sitting for our interview. Photo by: Amber Martinez.
What about birds draws your eye specifically?
I like the flight aspect, I can relate to them in a specific way, especially hawks. When I experience witnessing a hawk, I feel a kinship where I can imagine what that’s like and I really enjoy that experience. It just feels like a part of me. Early on, I had some really deep experiences with one particular Red-Tailed Hawk near where I live that kind of set off this whole thing of learning and studying birds, really deepening my relationship with them. It’s funny if I pick up my sketchbook now and give myself full permission to just draw whatever, seventy five percent of the time I end up drawing a bird. I’ll think I’m drawing a coyote and then “whoa, I’m drawing a bird.” Sometimes I feel like I should do other things, I feel a little bit I’m too narrow, but it’s what inspires me. I love the shapes of birds. I feel like I could draw birds for the rest of my life.
You’ve used lots of different mediums from woodcuts, tattoos, prints, and murals, what’s your favorite medium to present your art on?
It’s typically whatever I’m doing at the time, I get really into things. In general, I have fifteen favorite foods at any time. That’s just my nature. I’m pretty enthusiastic I suppose. With art, it’s challenging sometimes because I'm really into stuff. I’ll get into a chalk drawing with my kid or something. There’s no one favorite, that’s for sure. At times, there’s ones I get more out of, but I’m pretty obsessive in general.
He laughs.
I could get a little bit crazy and spend too much time on one thing.
Kris interrupts briefly to let David know that he’s selling some prints to another group that walked in. “You good? Do you need help?” David asks. Kris responds, “No, I’m good.” David turns back to me and chuckles “Sorry about that,” and we continue.
With this exhibit’s theme being “Heal”, what made you want that to be the central theme of this exhibit?
It came pretty organically, I’d say. About ten years ago, I did a show with Kris here. We did two versions, one in Denver actually. Which was a medicine based theme. I’ve been contemplating this notion of healing, and the word heal is rooted and comes from the same word that means holy. So heal actually means holy. I think with the times and with everything going on there’s a lot of need for healing, and for myself too, it kind of came naturally. Which is how these things normally work. As it came, it’s been really deep, all the pieces represent different stages of what I recognize as healing. It’s not totally inclusive, because there’s other parts of healing, but each piece is part of- or represents- the healing process. Returning to holiness.
It’s a personal journey and it’s something to share, which is what the work all represents. So I had a lot of healing process in making this work, but I also have been witness to all the people who are going to experience it. I felt while I was working on it that I was creating a body of work that will help others in the process, too. This body of work is the most that I’ve had where I’ve felt almost out of body while creating it. I spent a lot of time feeling emotions, like crying and feeling the whole thing. That always happens, but it’s elevated in this particular experience.
It brings more of your heart and soul into the whole process.
It’s more than me because I acknowledge that I’m a conduit. So it’s all about getting myself out of the way as much as possible. I can experience this other mind that you’re going to witness it and I have the smallest task, which is just liberating. I have to sacrifice a lot of the ego and pride in saying it’s mine and claim it, but the positive is that I get to watch it happen. It’s almost like magic. I’m sitting there, getting this firsthand experience and watching it unfold. It’s really special. It’s such a gift, it truly is.
Branching off of that, what do you want people to see and feel from your art?
I guess I just want them to feel what’s authentic to their personal experience. I can’t control that. I can’t control that at all. Inevitably, it’s all about the purpose of the work, I want them to feel closer than feel apart. So they can see it as their own and that they don’t have to see me, but find something about themselves. I don’t know what they’ll find about themselves in it, but that’s what I like. Getting myself out the way so they can see themselves. [The art] acts as a mirror basically, I just polish the mirror. I’m just a mirror polisher. I can’t even make a mirror, but I’m a good polisher.
We both laugh.
Do any of the animals in your artwork symbolize healing?
Yeah, they do. Each one individually has its own experiences in it. They’re all based around experiences I’ve had with animals. The deer is based on ones I see behind my house. The turtle is based off one we rescued that had been attacked and we helped it’s healing process and we see it yearly. My son will be riding his bike and we’ll go and see it and see the scars healed.
I got to ask about the ambulance you’re travelling in and we touched on this earlier, but how has travelling in it been?
It’s been a mixed bag, I travel with my whole family so mostly it’s fairly great. I have to do some repairs and there’s been instances where there’s been some roadside repairs on I-88, but I like that. It’s been beautiful, being able to get out and see different places and hang out. All the time spent outside, cooking outside. Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s awesome.
Mishaps are part of the adventure, that’s what makes it memorable.
Yeah, it really is.
We laugh for a second, and then continue.
How has your family been as a support system for your art?
Amazing. I mean, they are. They’re indivisible from my art. We all work together. My art is entirely dictated by my relationship with them. They’re everything and the art is secondary.
What are some things that you would like to create someday that you haven’t yet already?
I don’t know. I don’t really think too hard at this point. It all seems to work out. Whatever comes in the future is gonna be great. It’s weird. I know I’ll do some more murals. I’m pretty detached at this point.
How do you want your art to be remembered or carried on?
That’s an interesting question. I haven’t really spent much time on that. I don’t know if that’s for me really. Maybe that’s why I haven’t spent much time thinking about it. That is an interesting question, maybe it is something worthy of contemplation. It seems like a lot to try and put on my son. I feel like art is a representation of death almost. I did this piece behind me about my Uncle Roy.
He points to a piece above his head, which has a buffalo triumphantly standing, looking at the viewer, with a wave of color flowing behind the buffalo.
He said it was all about going to the other side and coming back again. Art is basically a death and coming back. It’s the most accurate describer of my art. It’s about that. That death process is inevitable. I want my art to die with me. I want it to be like my body and go back into the Earth. I trust that whatever failures and successes I have: The seeds that I need to grow, will grow, and the seeds that die off, will die off. That’s a great question, especially for your age. I’ve done a fair amount of interviews and have never been asked that question. You’ve got good questions.
David alongside the previously mentioned piece. Photo by: me.
Well thank you, that’s my goal as an interviewer is to ask the questions that haven’t been asked.
Oh totally, you’ve got great questions.
For my final question, what’s a piece of advice you want to give to other artists or creatives out there that could be reading this?
Well first of all, I think everyone on this earth is creative. I think that we’re active participants in creation. That’s the key component in creators. You can only really care for others expressions over your own, it’s not a selfish experience. Acknowledge your creative potential. Every other being is special in that, and you’re infinitely special to create, so there’s a paradox in that. Treating that as a sacred birthright or gift and defending it, nurturing it, is what we need to do. It’s like taking a right away to tell a human being that they’re not worthy of participating in creation. So that’s my advice. And to recognize it’s in anyone. You can be an artist, you’ll be an artist in everything. It’s crafted with your hands, your mind, and your heart. Whatever you do is from your heart, that's the key component. If you exclude your hands and mind, you can still create. If you acknowledge your heart, you can be a conduit. Just be what they call a hollow bone, a refractor. I’m still working on that myself, I’m not acting like I’ve achieved it yet.
Well, thank you for sitting down and talking with me, I really enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you man, that was amazing.
“I want my art to die with me. I want it to be like my body and go back into the Earth. I trust that whatever failures and successes I have: The seeds that I need to grow, will grow, and the seeds that die off, will die off.”
We stand up and wrap up the interview there, as a bigger crowd of visitors have come in and David goes to tend to them. My dad and I get a final walkthrough of all the art that spreads the walls, a last wave goodbye to David, Kris, and Crow, and we walk out the door to head back home.
Thank you again to David for showcasing amazing art, and to Kris for hosting it in his tattoo studio. It was a pleasure to meet and talk with you both. You too Crow.
David’s exhibit, Heal, is at Solhawk still, and will be there through the end of May. For more information, contact Kris Davidson at the Solhawk website: https://www.krisd.net/solhawk. You can find David Hale and more of his work at his website: http://hawk.love/.
-MH
