Still, it was not enough.

In 2007, I picked up a camera and began photographing the immediate world around me.

Over time, as I shot my photographs, I discovered new ways of seeing the world that was informed by my training, work experience and the thoughts and ideas about life itself and what it means to live in this world. I found that I finally had the means to convey what was meaningful to me personally, in an artistic medium that opened tremendous personal opportunities to grow in confidence as an artist.

For the next dozen years I honed my vision and my technical skills, all the time thinking about the thousands of images that I photographed. I saw each photograph as a fossil of some event, person, place, object, or idea that could not ever be truly replicated again. I could freeze a moment of time, but sadly that moment was gone.

In 2020, COVID struck, and I was put on unpaid leave from my job. With the newfound free time I had, I was able to pursue an illustration project for a close friend. Remarkably, that project led to a melding of photography and digital art manipulation, and the style of what you will see in this exhibition is an ongoing culmination of everything I have learned these past 35 years as a graphic and fine artist.

ABOUT DAVE SOBOTKA

I majored in Fine Art at Calvin College. While earning my degree, I cultivated a mind-set of creativity and an openness to the wonder of the world. In simple terms, as a result of the program, I began to view the world as a canvas.

Over the course of my career as a graphic artist, I have worked to creatively communicate clear messages for my work clients. For over 35 years, I have confronted and solved the basic technical challenges of successful design by compellingly integrating color, composition, structure, and form. In fact, through sheer repetition, balancing these foundational artistic building blocks became second nature to me. What first started as a challenge for me become as natural as breathing.

However... trying to say something as a fine artist was still very difficult for me. I had a lot to say, but I still could not execute my personal artistic vision in a satisfactory manner. I wanted to be happy with my end result, but I fell short time and time again. I finally gave up creating personal artwork in 1997. I still enjoyed viewing art, and I was successful in my career as a graphic artist, so at least I had those creative outlets.