Dave Vetal Paintings and Portraits

About
I am a passionate believer in the healing power of art, both for the artist and the viewer. As with many survivors of cardiac events, my recovery from a 2016 heart attack was marked with major depression and a constant desire to find meaning in my survival. My love of art that had been dormant during my business career re-emerged and allowed me to shift my internal angst to constructive creativity. Art became an integral part of my recovery: the more art I created, the better I felt and vice-versa. 

I strive to capture the spirit of my subjects and the innate humanity of all people. My continued journey has provided me with an acute awareness of the emotional impact that art conveys to its audience.
 
My initial work focused solely on the joy and humor of my subjects as I attempted to capture the joy of new family members and the interaction between loved ones. 
 
I have begun responding to the nuanced losses felt by those who yearn for bygone eras and places. My Port Arthur Series attempts to illustrate the day-to-day life in mid-century Port Arthur, Texas.  These paintings are based upon family photos of Lucille Linden. Ms. Linden's relocation to  New York City avoided the fate of many Port Arthur family photo collections, which were destroyed by a multitude of hurricanes from the mid-20th century to the present.  

More recently, I have begun stretching my limits to include  impressionist abstract works.  These works are driven by color, with many of these paintings superimposed on grids based on my own color association with the subject, era, or place.