David L Phelps

Artist Bio

I grew up on a family farm in California. My early education was in a oneroom schoolhouse on Roberts Island where Mrs. MacIntosh taught first through eighth grades. Self-taught oil painter Katie Feck owned the neighboring farm and introduced me to the concept of “Art.” Both Katie and Mrs. MacIntosh encouraged me to explore my artistic talent from a very young age.

I received my MFA from the University of Oklahoma in 1984 and was quickly awarded a regional NEA Fellowship. In 1987 I received a six-month residency in the Kohler Arts/Industry program in Wisconsin. After finishing at Kohler I was awarded my first large-scale commission from Triad Development Co. in Knoxville, Tennessee. I've been commissioned to create large-scale sculptures across the United States including the "Desert Wildlife" installation at the Gate D Terminal of McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. My sculptures are represented in many public and private collections across the United States, as well as in Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America, and Australia. My most recent large-scale commission is Sisyphus Over St Helena located in Napa Valley, California.

Wife Patty shares my life and when not in the studio, we are both kept on our toes with our kids and eight grandkids.

“The imagery of my figurative bronze sculpture is rooted in my early years on the family farm in the California Delta. Surrounded by water and threatened by drought I was unknowingly developing my lifelong aesthetic foundation. My figurative bronzes, ranging up to four times life-size, appear to emerge from the ground. They are serenely contemplative, and each piece is imbued with a dry, subtle sense of humor.”

Artist Work

Title: Pastoral Dreamer
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Sculpture
Description: Pastoral Dreamer is a triple life-size (5’x 17’ x 9’) bronze edition. It was originally commissioned by President David Boren for the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Subsequent castings are in Leawood, Kansas; Wayzata, Minnesota; Highland Park, Illinois; Golden Beach, Florida; Easton, Maryland; and Grapevine, Texas.

Title: Sisyphus
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Sculpture
Description: Sisyphus (7’ x 20’ x 5’; bronze, stainless steel, steel) was commissioned by Jeffrey Miller for his estate that tops a hill overlooking the Napa Valley town of St Helena, California. The extensive art collection on the property has many notable artists including a large impressive piece by Ai Weiwei.

Title: Invisible Royalty
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Sculpture, Installation/Site-Specific
Description: Invisible Royalty is a bronze, steel, and porcelain sculpture honoring writer Ralph Ellison. This piece was commissioned for The Ralph Ellison Library in OKC. His likeness appears to emerge from the prologue of his novel Invisible Man. The typewriter from his youth sits on a stack of his published works.

Location

 73106