"My
work is largely autobiographical. The colors of my palette
reflect my life and travels. Most of my subject matter
is taken from my time spent near water. Rivers, lakes,
and seas have, for me, always been synonymous with life;
my thoughts and art revolve around the feelings that emanate
from them."
His
work is heavily influenced by French post-impressionism
and Fauvism and has been described as "Surreal Impressionism."
Color takes center stage in my art," explains Gates. "I
use color to express emotions and sensations and to illustrate
the feeling of a particular scene. The outlines of the
objects in my drawings are less important and less realistic
than the colors, which I always try to make as authentic
as possible. I like to use the rules of art as ladders
and bridges, rather than boundaries. I was the type of
child, for instance, who would color outside the lines."
David
Feinberg, Professor of Art at the University of Minnesota
and 1997 juror of the Phipps Members Show in Hudson, WI,
gave him an Award of Excellence citing his work as "...
very special, very real. One must know quality when one
sees it, and this work has quality."
Gates
began his art education in 1966 at St. Cloud State University
and continued it at the College of Visual Arts in St Paul
and the University of Minnesota. His drawings can be found
in
juried, solo, and group shows as well as in private collections.
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