Profile
Largely a self taught artist, Texas-born Downe studied Business and Art History at Texas Tech before leaving to devote himself to painting on a full-time basis. Right from the start, his overriding desire was to create "feel-good" images, communicating his own positive approach to life, and this is conveyed in his uplifting artwork.
In the early 1980s Downe moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and found himself enchanted by the natural surroundings of the area. His earliest images were a series of studies of the indigenous "Saguaro Cacti", and their unusual composition and striking use of colour won him immediate acclaim. A few years ago, Downe returned to Texas with his wife and three children. Here he began to experiment with a range of styles and subject matter, abandoning landscapes in favour of still lives and abstracts, painted in acrylics on paper. His work still betrays the influence of New Mexico however, as shades of sand, ochre and crimson jostle with cobalt blue in his glowing abstracts.
Downe's popularity has been reflected in a consistent demand for his unforgettable images; he has fulfilled a number of corporate commissions for high profile companies and his paintings have appeared in several prime-time television programmes. His work has also been widely exhibited across the USA and Canada.
"I love to paint; I love mixing the colours and seeing the end result on the canvas or paper. I like signing my name to a painting and being happy with the way I have interpreted the world around me."