Don Bristow, IT Director at Bethesda Health Clinlic, talks about his art in front of section of the piece "Genesis" on Thursday at the clinic in Tyler. Bristow uses mathematical formula called fractals to create unique, almost-otherworldly designs. Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph

1. To learn more about Don Bristow’s artwork and see pictures of it, click this note. To purchase any of his pieces, contact Gold Leaf Gallery in Tyler at 903-597-2645.

While working on a second college degree in the 1980s, Don Bristow came across a book called “The Fractal Geometry of Nature.”

The book’s purpose was to show that fractals — geometric shapes with distinctive properties — modeled nature better than the typical geometric shapes, such as circles, rectangles and squares.

The fractals Bristow saw in the book fascinated him, so much so that he created his own copies of them with a computer and printer.

“This simple equation led to an infinitely complex and to me beautiful set and it was intriguing,” Bristow, 61, of Bullard, said referring to a specific fractal.

Though Bristow thought that then, he didn’t pursue fractal art at the time. He continued studying, earned his math degree and pursued a 20-year career in software development.

It wasn’t until leaving the field in 2003, and becoming a professional photographer that he reconsidered fractal art, which involves using mathematical equations to create art.

Bristow, who lived in Sacramento, California, at the time, produced a set of prints of mathematical equations and showed them to an art gallery owner he respected to get her opinion. His intention was to see if he should pursue this art form or not.

Her response was positive so when he and his wife moved to Bullard in 2007, he took his fractal artmaking to the next level.

“I married mathematical renderings, composition and aluminum together and called that Chaotica,” said Bristow, who works as Bethesda Health Clinic’s IT director. “That’s a name for the art form or my version of it, my version of fractal art.”

The tools of Bristow’s trade include an average computer (“nothing special” in his words) and several free and low-cost programs designed to create fractal images. He then takes those images and creates art.

Bristow’s first aluminum print was of his piece, “Vapor Sphere.” The image, as the name would suggest, is a sphere, but instead of solid color it has what looks like swirls of smoke, or vapor.

When the 4-by-4-foot print arrived, Bristow was so excited he showed it to his neighbor. He didn’t expect much of a reaction from her, because he thought her artistic tastes were different, but upon seeing the piece, she immediately requested to have one.

“So I had my first sale in 30 seconds, and that was very encouraging,” Bristow said.

In 2009, he had his first exhibit at a local coffee shop.

“My expectation for Tyler was that this would be something nobody had ever seen, and it might be pretty negative, but it wasn’t,” he said. “The response was very positive and, as a result, I was chosen on the spot to be the featured artist at the 2009 Health and Wellness Expo at the Convention Center.”

Part of the beauty of Bristow’s work is that the fractal quality creates different effects, depending on viewers’ distance from the piece. This means that sometimes viewers see things Bristow’s never seen in a piece and vice versa.

“The closer you get, the more details that you’ll see,” he said.

Once Bristow has a fractal image he likes, he can work with his various programs — such as the fractal imaging software or Photoshop — to layer multiple images, change colors and create other effects.

Sometimes, a piece is complete without much revision, and other times, he will revise it multiple times. He’s even on occasion been happy with a piece, posted it to his website, then later decided to adjust it.

Bristow said he never goes into a piece with a preconceived idea of what he is looking for, because “I’ll never find it.”

Instead, he waits for an image to strike him, to look like something he can work with.

Once he finds that, he can begin working to bring that image, that idea, to fruition.

Although all his pieces represent something to him, they do so in an abstract way.

Bold colors, shapes and lines fill his pieces — some of which comprise one panel and others, multiple panels.

The names he gives his work allude to what he sees in them, such as “Coral Reef,” “Symphony No. 2,” “Hair Salon” and “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.”

All of the pieces have stories, he said. He created “Superbowl 47” while watching that football game and said it resembles the pattern of the game.

“The Bellagio” resembles the kites hanging inside the Las Vegas hotel, Bristow said. Other titles reveal more cosmic themes, such as “Deep Impact,” “Creative Force Triptych,” “Planetary Alignment” and “Supernova,” just to name a few.

Although Bristow is serious about his artwork and would like to earn respect as an artist, that is not why he does this work. He enjoys it.

“Like any little boy, I loved to play, and that’s what this is,” he said. “It’s play. I’m using, instead of a paintbrush and canvas, I’m using a computer and program and my understanding of composition and my abilities as a mathematician and technician and appreciation of art. It weaves them all together into moments (and) time of play.”

Bristow works with three dealers to sell his art, one of which is Gold Leaf Gallery in Tyler.

Traci Brevard, who is the gallery’s owner and general manager, said when she heard about Bristow’s work she was excited by it, because she enjoys math.

“His approach to art is so different, because it’s mathematical, and so many of us enjoy math as much as we do art that it’s really great to see somebody put math and art together,” she said.

Alfonso Ippolito, Bristow’s friend and a college professor and Tyler business owner, said Bristow’s artwork is incredible. They’re even working on using it in Ippolito’s college classes for a student project.

What makes the work great is “the beauty of the art and how he’s able to take something that is very complex and make it very beautiful,” he said.

Bristow said he has grown in confidence over the years as gallery owners, curators and art teachers have given him positive feedback and supported his work.

The mystery of each image and how people respond to it is what remains part of the appeal for Bristow.

“The way I name my pieces are what … it means to me, and I hope it means other things to other people actually,” he said. “I hope it generates an emotional response in people. I hope … people see something in it, too. And it rarely is what I see. That’s what I love.”

Twitter: @TMTEmily