Advertising exec pursues love of painting
David Repyak’s love of the outdoors is evident in his work now being shown at the Empyrean Coffee House in downtown Spokane. Mountain peaks soar with wind-whipped clouds in the background.
“I want to convey the feeling I get in nature,” Repyak said, “the kind of wild energy.”
An avid hiker, he finds inspiration in the Cascade Range. He usually works from photographs he has taken while hiking. “There’s a sense of calm and peace,” he said. “It’s such a contrast to the noise and blur of the city.”
In a work titled “Atmosphere,” shadowy earth tones with splashes of arctic white convey the idea of the vast space he felt while standing on one ridge and looking across a valley to the next.
Another series titled “Impermanence” expresses the artist’s conviction that life is always in a state of flux and evolution. Even mountains change as they are weathered by time and seasons.
Repyak grew up in New England with a strong interest in art. “Watercolor has always been my first love,” he said.
After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, he pursued a career in advertising. A recent Seattle transplant, Repyak is an associate creative director at Miller-WhiteRunkle.
He says he’s discovered the art community in Spokane to be small, tight-knit and quite connected.
Finding time to pursue his artistic passion can be a challenge. “About two years ago, I decided to take this hobby up a notch,” Repyak said. Currently he paints late into the night in his South Hill home. “I kind of blew out a room and refinished a studio for myself.”
He says it’s easy to dedicate himself to something he loves. Raising his shoulders slightly, he grinned and added, “It doesn’t feel like work.”
Repyak creates monoprints by painting on a series of glass plates, mixing the colors to convey the energy he finds in nature. Then he presses a sheet of paper over the glass and burnishes it with a roller. Next, he lifts the paper from the glass and lets it dry a bit. Later, he’ll bring it to the table and create the look he wants by scraping off paint, adding and subtracting textures and hues.
The spontaneity of the medium lends itself to what Repyak calls “happy accidents.” Each work reveals itself like a surprise, he said.
“I always have ideas – themes I’d like to explore.”
Next, he said, he’s looking forward to a series featuring sunflowers that grow wild here in the spring – a cycle of life exploration.
“I hope what translates to people is the sense of joy and wonder I feel in the outdoors,” Repyak said.