I have been focusing on painting landscapes for the last 10 years, particularly those in the southwest. This high desert region in particular excites me and makes me want to capture it. I love to hike around and to be in it, to experience it and then sketch it. I usually sketch in pencil, do some quick watercolor studies, then take photos. I take all these home and work on paintings mostly in the studio, though occasionally I do plein air sketches.

I have been amassing a body of work the last few years that I thought was pretty solid. I began entering shows, juried competitions and getting work accepted into regional and national exhibitions. I did an artist in residency in southwestern Colorado in 2006 that was wonderful.

I decided to try opening a shop on Etsy after buying art on Etsy. I thought, 'hey, maybe I could do this too'. I had lots of art I had made; I just hadn't thought of selling it myself on a site like Etsy. I contacted other artists who had Etsy shops and was impressed with their availability, answering my questions, giving advice. I was touched by their warmth, appreciation of the Etsy community and their encouragement. I get inspiration from the works I see and the 'likes' that appear in my feeds which introduce me to other like minded artists and artisans.

My work can be seen in the 44th National Exhibition “WAOWed in San Diego” May 2 - 31. Also in Overland Park, KS 2014 Art at the Center Juried Art Exhibition. If you are in San Diego or Kansas stop in to see them.

I have a painting in a traveling show for the rest of 2014 called America's Parks II http://davidjwagnerllc.com/competitions.html.