Former MHCC art teacher displays art in campus Fireside Gallery

“Dark” from Douglas Campbell, is something he classifies as photo expressionism.

Campbell, beginning his 22nd year as an art professor at George Fox University, mixes modern technology and color influences from early century German expressionism in his paintings.

His process begins with a digital camera. Photos are then edited with Photoshop, turned into a black and white overhead transparency, projected onto a canvas that has already been painted its base color and then the photo is sketched onto the canvas with a pencil.

Campbell’s gallery pieces are all done with acrylic paint and painted in layers of complementary colors, he said.

“I was tired of how I was painting. I had been using photos for other things and started experimenting. It happened over a couple of years,” Campbell said about developing his artwork.

“Most artists want to do something different from what other artists are doing. It makes them distinct,” said Campbell.

The differences between paintings in the “Light and Dark” are distinct by subject matter as well as coloring.

The light paintings do not have exotic subjects, said Campbell. His intention with them was to have people see the subjects as “different than the everyday.”
The dark pieces are fantasy-based, he said. Campbell said the process is slightly different as well, focusing on a small section of a larger photo.

“It takes something that starts as dull and livens it up,” he said about the dark artwork.

“We take things at face value instead of using our imagination,” said Campbell.

The 31-year Portland resident has been published in more than 25 arts journals and magazines and has been part of around 170 exhibits, according to Campbell and his resume.

“I’ve been in a variety of exhibits and have had a few things published. I’d rather have (his art in) the shows because the published image is so small. It doesn’t have the same impact,” said Campbell.

This is his first time being shown at Mt. Hood but he is not new to the campus. He taught basic design classes back in the ’80s.

He’s taught art around the Northwest as well, teaching classes at Lewis and Clark College, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Warner Pacific and Evergreen State University-Vancouver Campus.

The “Light and Dark” showcase will be on display in the Fireside Gallery in the College Center until Oct. 27.