douglas miller

Douglas Miller’s drawings and paintings of wildlife may appear unfinished. But that is exactly the Kentucky artist’s style and intention.

Artist: Born and grew up in a family of teachers in Evansville, IN, until he moved to Florida to attend Ringling College of Art for two years. In 2001, after a stint in Seattle, Miller settled in Louisville, KY, and earned an MFA from the University of Louisville (UL).

In addition to his art, Miller is a full-time assistant professor of drawing at Bellarmine University.

Company/studio: Douglas Miller Art, started in 2007, and is based in Louisville. In 2020, he added a second floor to his garage to create a designated art studio, which features 12-foot ceilings, a loft space, and six large windows.

In the beginning: Around seven years old, Miller became obsessed with art and artmaking and knew that he would become an artist.

“Years of making, training, drawing, reading, thinking, failing, succeeding, failing again, and remaining curious has cultivated my practice,” said Miller.

Art & materials: Drawings and paintings of birds, animals and patterns found in nature.

For many years, Miller used whatever materials he could find that would achieve the effect he was after. For example, old coffee made a unique brown that he couldn’t find in an art supply store. A mascara brush made a splattered mark that a paintbrush could not.

Recently, he has been using more traditional materials, such as oil, acrylic paint, watercolor and colored pencils.

“But, occasionally I will find some forgotten coffee cup in the studio and use that too,” he said.

What’s popular: Lately, representations of Eastern box turtle shells ($3,000 to $4,000 for 32-inch by 30-inch pieces) that sold out at exhibitions.

Other favorites: Parakeets, peacocks, tanagers with the color blue.

A large parakeet drawing sells for around $3,500, while smaller drawings range from $1,000 to $2,000.

Favorite tools: Pencils.

“Pencil drawings can be both unpretentious and grandiose,” said Miller. “I make pencil drawings weekly to hone my skills by working on value, line and observation.”

Inspirations/influences:

Different artists’ preliminary work, sketchbooks, notes and plans. “I love the design and planning stages of artwork sometimes more than the actual art.”
Theodore Gericault’s sketchbook drawings.
Work of writers and poets, such as Basho’s haikus, which are lovely to look at.

Special or unusual commissions:

Some hand-drawn animation work for musicians and filmmakers for a music video. Those were especially unusual to do since he had no prior experience making animations. The music video was for Joan Shelley, and the song was “Cost of the Cold.”

“A few seconds of animation is hundreds of individual drawings,” said Miller. “And can take many hours or days.”

A large (60 inch by 50 inch) painting of a deer and a baby that he shipped to Alaska.

Recent award/honor: The “Susanna Kelly Art Award” from the Antler Gallery in Portland, OR. Miller will be part of a show that opens Sept. 26 at the gallery.

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