Preston Craig

Artist Statement

Painting and drawing allows me freedom to address some of the social ills that plague our modern society and to paint what I feel, not necessarily what I see. Having grown up in a rural setting and having had opportunities to travel and live overseas, I decided to paint what I saw in my mind?s eye while referencing what I experienced around me.

The nature of my work is that through the use of varied imagery, classical and digital painting techniques and humor, I sometimes utilize teddy bear images to address contemporary, social issues that are relevant and that affect the human race on a physical and spiritual level. Through my Twisted Teddys? series and other imagery, I hope the viewer is inspired to be more aware of their global connections to each other and to take personal responsibility for effecting positive change in society. With that in mind, my artistic goal is that I aspire to achieve positive social change with my art.

Some paintings are a result of investigating my Native American roots (Choctaw), while others are a result of my spiritual quest and studies in Jungian symbology, Shamanic practices and Aboriginal Dreamtime myth. Those studies and travels showed me there is only one human race (not many) and if we are to survive as a species we need to realize our interconnectedness. We are part of the dance of life, not apart from it. I try to incorporate that philosophy in my work.

While some of my landscapes may seem more representational, there is always a spiritual energy that emanates from them and my allegorical images breathe an almost mystical ?ah-ha? as I reveal something of myself in the painting process. I create my fantasy pieces to delight and entertain and touch that inner child that is within each of us.