photo by Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph Artist David Dunham works on a cover up tattoo for Jimmy Decker of Tyler. Decker is covering up a 20 year old tattoo with new art from Dunham who works at Firing Line Tattoo in Tyler.

 

As an artist, David Dunham works with paint on canvas and ink on skin. His art captures the bright neon colors and shapes of animated characters that have stuck with him since childhood.

The 31-year-old father of two has been drawing his entire life.

“I remember being 3 years old sitting on a bar stool at the counter drawing,” he said. “I remember being in kindergarten drawing every morning with kids hovering over my shoulder watching me draw.”

Although the art bug bit Dunham early, it took a life-altering experience to get him to focus on his passion.

In 2007, Dunham was coming home after camping out when he drove through an intersection and crashed into a Ford F150 pickup.

“The accident changed everything … in the blink of an eye,” Dunham said.

The night before the accident, Dunham had been drinking. His alcohol level was above the legal limit allowed for drivers. He was charged with intoxicated assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury and sentenced to eight years in prison.

“The man I hit … his seat belt malfunctioned and he was ejected from the cab and became paralyzed from the waist down,” Dunham said.

He said the victim, a volunteer pastor at the church he attended, has forgiven him.

It was a wake-up call that put him on a better path.

“I think God had something else in mind for me,” he said. “… I was an alcoholic and I did have a drinking problem.”

 

INFLUENCE

While serving time in prison, Dunham studied art. He also took advantage of opportunities to speak to at-risk students. He said he warned youths to stay on the right path or face the consequences of bad choices as he was doing.

After serving about five years behind bars, Dunham was released from prison and came back home to Tyler. He landed an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop.

It was a way he could practice art.

“When I started tattooing (2 years ago), man I wanted to cry and give up,” he said. “… It was really difficult to adjust to. But having finally gotten the technique and application down, I’m now trying to put my own style into the tattoos.

“That’s what I strive for in my art … to be my own style.”

Tattooing and painting allow Dunham to use his imagination and talent.

“I like that I get to make art all day long,” he said. “Whether I’m tattooing or working on my art, I’m constantly getting to create art all day long.”

 

PAINTING

When it comes to painting, Dunham said his style and subject choices are influenced by the cartoon characters of Walt Disney that he enjoyed as a child.

“(The characters of artist and movie director) Tim Burton and (the animated) Roger Rabbit really impacted my psyche — all the mediums from Disney,” Dunham said. “My cartoon characters are styled in the older tradition.”

Dunham’s vibrant paintings often have a good-versus-evil theme.

“It’s always a main motif of yin and yang or good and evil. The characters represent different things,” Dunham said, noting that interpretation and meaning comes from both the artist and the viewer.

Dunham said he paints because it brings him pleasure.

“I don’t ever make them for (other) people in mind. … It’s a byproduct for others to like them.”

Dunham’s paintings have been exhibited in art shows throughout Texas and at locations around Tyler, including Salon Verve.

As a tattoo artist, Dunham enjoys coming up with ideas that excite his clients.

“Tattooing is a direct consumer experience,” he said. “It’s cool when you get people excited on what you like, but at the same time you have to make a consensus.”

 

To check out Dunham’s art, follow his work on Facebook at Facebook.com/David.Dunham.5876.