Douglas Darracott was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and currently lives and works in Plano, Texas. He received his MFA in painting from North Texas State University and currently works as an art teacher at Plano West Senior High School. Darracott says, “My work reflects my interest in place, the titles of my paintings being names of cities and states, parks and zoos, etc… In a collective way, they can both affirm and negate a preconceived notion of place. I’ve organized my work into different series, each of which involves the investigation of a space for human and/or animal habitation.
AMERICAN DREAM Series: I have been traveling throughout the United States in search of homes to paint that wave the American flag (each house is named after the state I discovered it in). I’m curious as to how these homes look together side by side, reflecting as they do, varied styles, economic classes, and/or distinct lifestyles. What connects them, of course, is what appears to be a patriotic gesture of displaying the stars and stripes. My thought was to arrange them as one would arrange patterns in a quilt as a suggestion of harmony, and to paint them in a style that speaks to the craft of colonial painting to reference our cultural traditions.
ZOOLOGICAL Series: I have also traveled extensively to visit zoos. For me, a zoo represents an 'ideal place' that essentially
functions as a microcosm of the planet. In a zoo, you lose a sense of place; they rarely distinctively reflect the town or country
where they are found. Interestingly, they are most often a place designed for humans and their enjoyment rather than a haven for
animals that brings them contentment."
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