Since graduating from the University of the Arts with a BFA in 2003, Seth Darnall has been experimenting with mixed media and acrylics. Currently based out of his studio in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Seth participates in the community art scene by exhibiting his work at the studio/gallery at Ginkgo Arts. Seth is also a full time senior graphic designer with an agency in Chicago. Both his abstract paintings and design work represent the two halves of his creative passion.
Unlike with his design work, there is no preconception to his paintings. It is a catharsis. A way to explore and discover who he is. Seth describes it as a compulsion, and not always a pleasant one as the process can be frustrating. While there is no preconceived idea with any of the work, Seth expects the final result to represent the beauty of the struggle to exist, to live life with no shame and to wear your scars well.
Seth draws his inspiration from the community, from meeting new people and hearing their stories. He believes that it is our imperfections that make us beautiful and unique and are the stories worth telling. Having recently relocated to the West Chester area, Seth looks forward to sharing his unique voice and passion for art with the community and growing with them.
"It's a weird thing to be an artist. I've only recently felt comfortable calling myself that after I've decided that it's not a title that qualifies actual talent. I mean, I can't really say that any of my work has any objective merit, I just have to explore the vacancy of an empty canvas. I hope that each time I paint, a new hidden truth reveals itself. It's the thrill of discovery. It's the thirst for identity and revelation. It's an odd compulsion that borders frequently on vanity and that's where failure hides as vanity only sets up wild misconceptions of your true voice. It's a weird thing to contemplate the hours spent in frustrated agony over the mess being made on a perfect white canvas. But as desperately as I need to breath, I need to paint." -SD