Born and raised in Fort Collins as the son of an art teacher, De Wain was motivated to express his creativity through drawing, painting, and crafts. Painting was a natural process for him, and he was encouraged from an early age by winning local and national awards. Painting with a direct all prima technique, combined with his passion for painting “en plein air,” or on location, he strives to capture the impressions of the beautiful colors and forms in nature. He works at making his technique seem simple yet with all the qualities of good design, arrangement, pattern, color and light, and, of course, filled with expressive energy. He enjoys the challenge of using thick confident brush strokes over a large canvas, painting in one sitting while dealing with the ever-changing light and weather conditions.
“What the landscape painter wants to render is not the natural landscape but the feeling the landscape produces in him."
