Wayne lives in Hickory, North Carolina. He attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh under a full scholarship.
"I am 43, three wonderful children, an incredible wife and my faith in Jesus Christ... who could ask for more.
Creating is my passion. I have found working through different mediums keeps my mind challenged.
Whether I'm painting ,carving or designing - I'm still creating with the same design principles. All successful
projects have a strong design in common. Balance, unity, interest, flow, rhythm etc. . .
Creating a good design first is key. |
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Wayne grew up in Pennsylvania in a small town called North East ,on the coast of Lake Erie, with 2 old brothers. Winters are long on the lake but the summers stay pretty cool. All along the lake you'll find Concord grape vineyards as far as you can see. The conditions are so good for growing grapes that Welches Co. was founded only about 30 miles east in Westfield, New York. So as a young boy Wayne worked in the grape vineyards. During the fall the entire town smelled of fresh grape juice. Growing up Wayne's father, and his father were carpenters. For a few years Wayne's dad drove a dirt track race car and owned Watts burg Speedway. His mother's father was a dairy farmer. Sunday was always church then a drive to the dairy farm for Sunday dinner."We played in the hay barn for hours, I love those memories... even the smell of cow manure brings out my youth.
After college, in 1984, Wayne moved to Wilmington, Delaware and worked at Lyons Studios Advertising. DuPont and most corporations are based in Wilmington which gave Wayne opportunity to do work for companies like Woolrich, Dupont, Goretex, and MBNA. |
In1988 Wayne left to start illustrating nationally on his own. He remained working
in Delaware for 11 years. In 1995 returned to Pennsylvania. He moved his studio
and family to an 11 acre farm which over looked Lake Erie, a cow pasture, and
woods. " I loved that I could have 2 cows, 3 pigs, 4 duck, 2 sheep, 15 turkeys,
1 rabbit, 15 chickens,1 cat, and 1 dog. Maybe this is the reason I love to paint
animals so much."
In 2001 he moved to his present home and studio to Hickory, NC. Wayne built his
studio in his backyard overlooking the woods and 2 chickens. Elroy, his German
Shepard dog, spends his day with Wayne."Working at home allows me the
opportunity to see and help my family grow. Family and faith are my greatest joys." |
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Interests
"I enjoy the out doors a great deal. My wife and the family like to go for long walks after dinner. I spend a lot of time with my three children.They are 1, 3, and 11 years old. They keep us busy!
We camp and hike. Recently we went out west (photo to left) to Nevada. Love the West!! We also travel a lot to Pennsylvania to see our parents and relatives.
I swim to stay in shape. Now and then I still compete through the US Masters Assoc. They have swim meets around the country for retired swimmers.
I love to cook! Cleaning up, no. Cooking yes.
My Faith keeps me going, I enjoy my Baptist church in Bethlehem NC
where I teach 6th grade Sunday school. I learn more than they do!
Also, no one should live with out ; Nascar, pepperoni subs,
beach vacations, camping, animals, bow hunting,
gardens, good neighbors, and a purpose.
oh yeah.....good food!
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My thoughts on Design
"I think a good Design is the most important part of any art related project.
Everyone knows if they like a piece of art , but not everyone knows why they like it!
Art has rules, (like math or science), that make them function. It is no accident that
some paintings are better to look at than others.For instance , a good design should guide the viewer's eyes around and through the art . Like a road, they follow your path to the end... then start over.
A good design has balance, unity and focus.
With out unity for example you would have no order. Without order you would have tension. If you painted two trees of equal size, color and importance on a page then asked someone to view it, they would be confused at which one to look at first. Make one tree dominant then the viewer will have a path to take."
"I learn more about design and color everyday. Just look around , nature is full amazing things. Even when I work in different mediums like sculpture, Murals or even Landscape design ,I try to apply the same rules of design.
I am challenged by trying new and different mediums. Like hand carving a Loon into a Moose antler was an awesome project.
If you would like see samples of my work in these different mediums click here |
Please feel free tocontact mewith a new challenge or idea you may need created!"And of course call with anyIllustrations projectsyou may need.
Thank you,
Wayne Parmenter |
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