Celebration of Fine Art

If you have missed seeing Doug Tharalson at the Celebration for the past six years it must because you weren’t looking up. (Doug is 6’6”) Both Doug and his unique work are hard to miss. His style is cubist and his color pallet is bold. A conversation with Doug reveals a man of great depth and unusual experience. He is a welder, designer, inventor, honorary Jew, bohemian, gentleman rancher, free spirit and a sculptor and painter. I am sure we have missed something, he has done so much and has so many interests you just can’t list everything. Doug says his favorite thing is being a painter. Painting is how he wants to spend the rest of his life. “I want to be found on the studio floor with a paintbrush in my hand, that would be fine”

Doug has recently been honored by an article in the July 12, 2007 on line issue of Smithsonian Magazine titled, “The Artist’s Lifestyle”

http://articulations.smithsonianmag.com/archives/138

He also has a beautiful two page spread with images of his work in the September/October issue of Valley Life magazine.

He chose cubism because he admires the bohemian lives of cubist artists like Picasso, Braque and others who lived and worked in the early 20th century. His bold work reflects his love for the style of these artists. Doug also introduces a great sense of fun into his work. When he does portraits he adds people’s pets or perhaps a favorite object somewhere in the background. Just ask him to talk about his work and you will be enchanted by this unique artist. “Art is a great communicator. It surpasses all languages. It allows people to take a pause in their busy daily lives and imagine,” says Tharalson.

Tharalson lives with his family on a 2.5 acre property nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains between Agoura and Malibu. This idyllic site is a perfect springboard for the imaginative man who handcrafted almost everything on his compound. His front gates of welded re-bar, his delightful entertainment vehicles for friends, including a pig shaped barbecue and the “glutronitron” (a long mosaic inlayed dining table with a gas fired flame that emerges from sand running down the center). Touches of sculpted elements and mosaic inlay surprise you as you stroll among the breathtaking peacocks.

Both Doug and his wife Diana are imaginative and creative people. In addition to his architectural and structural steel work, carpentry, woodwork, mosaic, sculpture and painting they hold several patents for a successful line of baby products conceived after their children were born. You will enjoy you conversations with Doug when you meet him at the Celebration.

A retrospective Tharalson’s paintings will be exhibited at the nearby Cornell Winery and Tasting Room. www.cornellwinery.com