Dave Choate left college with a degree in finance, but before long found himself drawn to fine arts.
A Shelton resident, Choate is a self-taught artist who has gained notoriety — and even a blurb in the pages of “Playboy” — for his unique portraits of athletes and celebrities.
Some — Alicia Keyes, George Lopez, Macklemore — have even bought Choate’s works.
The Valley Indy reached out to Choate last month to ask him about his work, how he became an artist, and whether Michael K. Williams is as cool as Omar Little in real life.
Click here for Choate’s website.
Click here for his Facebook page.
Click here for his Twitter feed.
The Valley Indy’s Q&A with Choate is below.
Valley Independent Sentinel: The popular conception of an artist is of a person struggling to get by day to day. How’d you get into art, and how’d you get to the point where you could make a living off of your talent?
Dave Choate: The real struggle was in my first few years. My paintings were terrible, but getting better by the month. An artist has to make 1,000 bad paintings before they can make a good one.
I discovered that I had artistic ability in the first grade. My classmates would request custom drawings even back then.
My education is in finance and several years after graduation I reconnected with a classmate who was a working artist. It seemed like a fun way to make money and the rest is history.
Social media plays a large part in netting commissions and print sales. My Twitter and Instagram have been a big part of my new business.
VIS: Do you paint portraits exclusively, or do you do other stuff as well? Just sports?
DC: I almost exclusively paint portraits. I started out doing sports, however about 25 percent of my portfolio are non sports figures.
VIS: How would you describe your work? They seem to be sort of, what, cubist, if I’m using that term at all correctly? (I am almost assuredly not, apologies to my college art history professor)
DC: I almost failed art history. My interest level in art was non-existent. I’d still rather talk about sports than art.
I’m self-taught and I wasn’t trying to emulate a particular artist or style. Perhaps it’s a fusion of a few different styles – Outsider Art, Cubism, Neo Expressionism, Caricature. Just don’t call it a cartoon.
VIS: How do you get inspired to do a particular painting? Just from admiring a certain athlete or public figure?
DC: A lot of my time is spent browsing the web in search of a photo that grabs my attention. Initially, I have a person or subject in mind, but if I come across a powerful image I’ll just roll with that and start painting. My energy level to paint for hours on end is much higher when I have passion for the subject. Paint what you love. It makes it easier.
Most of my work these days are spent on commissions, so I don’t paint on spec that often.
VIS: Do you have a favorite?
DC: My Baltimore Orioles, Eddie Murray. This was the first painting that really clicked for me. The light bulb went on — after experimenting for years what I had in my head was translated to the canvas. I found my style.
VIS:: You were recently featured in the July/August issue of Playboy for a painting you did of Kate Moss, after which you said you’ve gotten attention from supermodels on social media. Can we expect some more model portraits in the future?
DC: I need to paint those models — the single ones, anyway. If you want to meet a celebrity or a model — paint them. They can’t resist.
VIS: Have the subjects of any of your paintings ever reached out to you?
DC: A lot of my subjects are dead and most of the living ones don’t seem to be on Twitter or Instagram, though Derek Jeter just launched an online magazine website with a Twitter handle.
His sister, Sharlee Jeter retweeted it on Sunday. Maybe I’m on his people-to-call list. The very bottom of that list.
VIS: Judging by your Twitter feed, you run into celebrities quite a bit. Who’s the coolest? It’s gotta be Michael K. Williams, right?
DC: You’re not wrong, but if I had to choose just one I’d go with Winona Ryder being the coolest. She’s so engaging and down to earth. We talked about ’70’s baseball for about an hour. She bought a Lou Gehrig print for herself and a Sandy Koufax for her Dad.
VIS: Have you sold paintings to any other celebrities?
DC: Some of the bigger names are Alicia Keys, George Lopez, and Macklemore. I’m working on a piece now for the Brooklyn Nets, Mason Plumlee. I had conversations with Winona about making a Pee Wee Reese for her father, so we’ll see what happens.
My first celebrity collector was almost Carmelo Anthony, who was interested in a Mike Tyson piece, but his wife LaLa didn’t seem to think that they had a space for such a large painting. My feeling was Tyson didn’t go with her decor. Melo still follows me on Instagram, so I think it’s still on his mind. Maybe he’s working on her in hopes of getting Tyson approval.
VIS: Who’s your favorite artist?
DC: Ellsworth Kelly. I love minimalist art with simple lines and limited color because it declutters my mind and helps me focus.
