Written By: Colleen Wadeson
Adventure is intrinsic to life for artist and painter, David Wachs, whose odysseys in learning the landscape have guided him across countless terrains in the United States and beyond. Infinitely inspired by alpine environments of the Pacific Northwest and semi-arid steppe deserts of the American Southwest, David’s passion for place is vividly expressed in his vignettes of monumental landscapes.
The Landscape of Adventure
With sophisticated simplicity and a palette of land, sky, and light, David has mastered a technique of illustrating vast spaces with keen attention to composition, color, and coherent scale. With media such as water-based oil and liquid pigments, he mixes his own colors of cadmium, cobalt, umber, sienna, cadmium red, orange, and yellow. This proprietary process allows him to create large volumes of paint, giving him greater freedom in his application of color and texture.
David’s aim is to render a believable expression of a place, scene, or fleeting moment. The distilled graphic is what he’s after—that which appears to him and what other people see, too. Collectors of his artwork around the world often contact him and exclaim: “I saw that sky—that shadow—those stripes across the field. I saw those just like your paintings!”
Whenever David and his partner, Carol, venture out on a purposeful trek, they allow time for unexpected encounters. Their destinations often require exertion to reach, but wild and wonderful scenes await them to discover.
“IT HAS TAKEN ME A LONG TIME TO DEVELOP THE CONFIDENCE TO PUT DOWN THESE MARKS QUICKLY, EFFICIENTLY, AND EXPRESSIVELY TO ACCOMPLISH THE IMAGE THAT I’M TRYING TO SHARE—TO CRYSTALIZE THAT ONE MOMENT.”
-Schmitty’s Couloir | Big Sky, Montana | 92” x 48”
On his Honda motorbike, or well-tuned skis, the allure for David is the next view—what’s around the corner, on the other side, farther up, or beyond the horizon. While sunrises and sunsets are dramatic, it’s often what David glimpses out of the corner of his eye that compels him to paint.
“You don’t need a sprinter van to get out and explore,” he says. “You can use an old Jeep or an old pickup that runs. Or if you want to drive down that dirt road and all you’ve got is that Mercedes SUV—do it, because it’ll change your life. You’ll never know unless you go.”
A glimpse into David’s creative process reveals an artist moving quickly through a landscape. Changing light, fluctuating winds, cloud formations, and ephemeral shadows all influence what he observes and documents. His impressions are chronicled on canvas like a birder who quickly categorizes a bird’s silhouette—its head, beak, tail, and feet. One must capture as much as possible before that winged creature flies away.
“YOU DON’T NEED A SPRINTER VAN TO GET OUT AND EXPLORE. YOU CAN USE AN OLD JEEP OR AN OLD PICKUP THAT RUNS. OR IF YOU WANT TO DRIVE DOWN THAT DIRT ROAD AND ALL YOU’VE GOT IS THAT MERCEDES SUV—DO IT, BECAUSE IT’LLCHANGE YOUR LIFE. YOU’LL NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU GO.”
-Icicle Sun | Leavenworth, Washington | 92” x 48”
“It has taken me a long time to develop the confidence to put down these marks quickly, efficiently, and expressively to accomplish the image that I’m trying to share—to crystalize that one moment,” he says.
Through early introductions to rock climbing, mountaineering, and skiing, David developed a love for volcanoes—all of them. He is intimately acquainted with traversing the many slopes and trails of the Cascade Range, where Mount Bachelor rises as an iconic presence on Central Oregon’s western skyline.
David defines the cornice as the most impressive feature of Bachelor’s snow-covered basaltic landform on the West Ridge—a subject he paints every year as a personal assignment. By experiencing the same place in different seasons through various climatic conditions, he naturally cultivates geographic awareness. From Pacific Ocean storms hammering across the coastal range or vigorous swirling weather from Lake Tahoe, the character of the cornice forms and changes each winter. During seasons of typical snowfall, it grows to an accumulated depth of 20 to 30 feet and becomes a visual record of the winter that shaped the mountain.
“YOU MUST BE THE ONE TO PURSUE YOUR PASSION BECAUSE NOBODY ELSE KNOWS WHAT IT IS.”
-Peshastin Winter | Peshastin, Washington | 12” x 9”
From a drive up to Bachelor, David perceives the horizon line of the carved-out, northeastern section as merely a dark blue stripe. But on the mountain, he knows everyone who encounters this massive projection relates to it in a personal way. To view the cornice, one must get close to the summit. Like a rite of passage, only the most skilled skiers and intrepid athletes dare to launch off the cantilevered edges and plunge into the bowl below.
For David, the southern Utah desert offers a dramatic contrast to the Cascades. He recalls the experience that inspired his painting of Circle Cliffs:
“We had just left the Henry Mountains near Escalante, Utah, when we crossed the desert valley to crest a plateau above the Burr Trail switchbacks. The light, shadows, and shapes revealed themselves as if the sun had moved hours forward or back. Turning around, I saw the rock as a structure—a castle or large building tilted on top of an earthen bulge—with a view of the Henrys on the horizon. The desert sky vibrates blue all day out of the corner of my eyes—and there’s the sound of the bike, the exhaust, and tires over rocks and gravel. The friendly breeze and heat waves made the objects seem wiggly and out of focus, mostly in the wind.”
“THE LIGHT, SHADOWS, AND SHAPES REVEALED THEMSELVES AS IF THE SUN HAD MOVED HOURS FORWARD OR BACK.”
-Behind Sun Valley | Ketchum, Idaho | 30” x 40”
As memoirs of his immersive experiences, David’s work embodies decades of exploring, discovering, getting lost, finding his way, navigating weather, and even negotiating danger. The illustrative depiction of every landscape he renders is a testament and an invitation to be present, observant, and attuned to sensations in the moment.
The bold, representational paintings evoke power and wonder, inducing others to find and create their own connections of self-discovery in places, spaces, and environments of captivating beauty.
“You have to take the whole journey in life,” David believes. “Listen to your desire and follow it. You must be the one to pursue your passion because nobody else knows what it is.”
–Circle Cliffs | Southern Utah | 30” x 40”
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