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Creative art is a seducer;
few forms of it are more capable
of luring an artist out of
total reality into hours of
total involvement than stippling
(the art of drawing with dots).
How much time should be devoted
to the development of images,
how detailed or loosely interpreted
should images be, these are
entirely up to the artist
and the style by which he
or she wishes to be known.
Among the artists who mastered
the uniqueness of this technique
was French impressionist Georges
Seurat. His painting “Sunday
On The Grand-Jatte”
has moved art lovers for decades.
Like Seurat, Prince George’s
County artist Curtis G. Woody,
with whom he happens to share
a birthday, has been moving
art lovers for three decades.
He has spent thousands of
hours and millions of ink
dots creating his unique drawings.
Curtis shows extraordinary
skill in capturing the candid
sensitivity of the human subject
with his epitome of patience.
He keeps pre-drawing to a
minimum - just enough to locate
the outline of a figure while
at the same time paying careful
attention to the study of
composition. “I look
for subjects that have an
inherent emotional quality;
however this is not essential
since
subjects can be adapted or
modified through style to
achieve this effect.”
Ordinary people and their
lifestyles are important to
Curtis. Their struggle to
survive, the joy and sadness
of day to day living, and
the sensitivity found in facial
expressions provide a rich
pool of subjects for new statements
in ink. The innocence of the
young and the calm acceptance
of the elderly offer an unlimited
array of opportunity to understand,
through art, how common the
spirit of human emotion is
to all.
After earning an Associate
Degree in Commercial Art at
Thomas Nelson Community College
in Hampton, Virginia, Curtis
with his wife Jacqueline and
their son Jonathan made there
home in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Curtis has been successful
in meeting his professional
goals, from past positions
as technical illustrator with
LTV Aerospace to art director
of NPC Associates, to present
national recognitions of his
drawings.
A recipient of numerous
awards, Curtis’ name
and art work can be associated
with art patrons such as Maryland
Congressman Steny Hoyer, former
NBA Basketball player “Dock
Rivers, Madame Leah Tutu,
wife of Archbishop Desmond
Tutu of South Africa and the
Honorable Alexis Herman, Secretary,
U.S. Dept. of Labor during
the Clinton Administration.
Curtis was one of two artists
commissioned for the “one
per cent for art” component
of Enoch Pratt Free Library’s
$3.2 million renovation project.
Curtis was recently commissioned
by General Motors to create
an original drawing depicting
the new Signature Series automobile
against the backdrop of Americana.
His career is characterized
by a continuing allegiance
to his cultural heritage.
The honest candor with which
he captures ordinary people
remains the great strength
of his interpretations of
the world in which we live
- interpretations to be remembered
for decades to come. Curtis
is truly the dot man.
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