Dirk A. Schneider was born on July 16, 1935 in Winona, Minnesota. He lived there for several years during his childhood until his parents moved the family to Albuquerque, New Mexico during a childhood summer. Schneider began his career in Banking and Finance, but decided this was not his niche. He wanted to be able to express himself and his life experiences through art. Schneider taught himself to paint, which he said, "...allowed me to fully express myself in each painting I do." Some of his favorite subjects to paint include the American circus, clowns, science fiction, and most importantly, Southwestern Landscapes. He loves to paint images of his beloved New Mexico, which reflect images and experiences from his life. This is the art of Dirk Schneider. In the 1960's, after having a career in banking and finance, Dirk decided there had to be a better way of self-expression. He severed his ties with his business and began to paint, sometimes carrying his paintings to law offices and bankers whom he had done business with in the past. He was, of course, self-taught with a strong desire to create his improessions of his nearly lifelong experience of New Mexico. In his paintings, Dirk captures the rugged strenght of the centuries in the adobes which are also his chief devotion. His paintings reveal the vivid colors that are New Mexico's trademark-the elusive South-western clouds and azure skies. His adobes are an interplay of shadow and light, so often discovered here by the observant, yet so difficult to recreate. Of Dirk's paintings, it has been said that they reflect life-both the life that seems to linger amid the the crumbling walks and the life-vibrant and aware-that wields the brush. Versatile-he does not hesitate to venture into such distant realms as science fiction, circus life, and clowns. Be at peace and see a clear pattern and plan running through all your lives, Nothing is by chance. |
