05.12.2008
Statesville artist inspired in new downtown workspace
 |
Statesville artist David Shoemaker works from his studio and gallery space on Broad Street. Bruce Matlock photo |
Operating his art studio out of a storefront on East Broad Street gave local artist David Shoemaker lots of exposure.
But exposure has its downside, and Shoemaker found the noise from the street a little too distracting.
“I needed something a little quieter,” he said.
He also had room for only one easel, which limited what he could work on at a given time.
Shoemaker decided to turn over the lease to a couple sharing the space with him. Suddenly, he needed a new gallery.
“I didn’t have a place to go,” he said.
That didn’t last long. A real estate agent let him know about an upstairs space that was available on the next block.
“I immediately fell in love with it,” he said. “It’s a big, wide-open space. I loved this spot. It’s real peaceful and real quiet in here. This is absolutely perfect.”
Shoemaker said the upstairs loft fits his personality perfectly. It still gives him the downtown location he desires, but also offers the privacy he needs to work.
He has four easels set up in the back of the studio so he can work on four paintings at once. That works really well when he’s working with oils, he said. “With oil, you have to let parts of it dry, so I can move back and forth from one to the other,” he explained.
The loft also offers gallery space for Shoemaker to display some of his paintings, which range from a portrait of a dog he did as a gift to elaborate street scenes from European cities.
His latest work comes from a recent trip to Italy, where he was determined to visit a bridge he had seen photos of before leaving.
He got the chance to spend most of one day at the Ponte Vechhio Bridge, where he took pictures from every angle he could.
“I could not wait to get down to the bridge. It was almost like I was drawn to it for some reason. I wanted to see things I couldn’t see in the photos,” he said.
When he returned to the United States, he used the photos he took to begin creating a painting of the bridge.
Shoemaker also came back from Europe with a new sense of what a downtown area should be.
“Everybody shops in town,” he said. “These little narrow streets have shops and markets. It reminded me of when I was a kid and everybody went to town to shop.”
He’s doing his part to draw people to downtown with his new gallery.
Being upstairs and away from the hustle and bustle of street level, he said, also means he doesn’t feel the need to keep regular hours.
He can grab a cup of coffee at a nearby store, and retreat into his upstairs loft to began work.
“I’m an artist. It’s best for me to get here in the morning, and leave around 2 or 3 o’clock,” he said. “I burn out.”
That also gives him the opportunity to head out and look for something he’s interested in for his next project. He can take photos of a beautiful sunset or a pond when the sun is just right.
Shoemaker is hoping to capture the feel of a downtown art loft. His paintings decorate the walls and an old sewing machine serves as a table. He uses odd pieces of furniture he has picked up in various spots to complete the look.
“I love this place upstairs. It’s my home away from home,” he said.
Marin Tomlin, director of the Downtown Statesville Development Corp., said she is pleased Shoemaker decided to remain downtown.
The work he has done on the loft can serve as a model of what the upstairs spaces in many downtown buildings can become.
“His studio is a great example of how some of our other downtown upper stories could be put to use. I think there is a definite market for more of this type of artist space,” she said. “I believe the art community and downtown make a perfect combination.”