Biography
Douglas Brown was born in Panama City, Panama in 1976. Soon after, he and his family moved to Austin, Texas where he currently resides and works. From an early age, Douglas showed an interest in art. His parents separated early on, leaving his Mother to maintain a household while raising two sons. This closeness with his Mother would be the foundation of Mr.Brown's interest in depicting strong women, a theme that is present throughout his work.
Mr. Brown attended the University of Texas and graduated with a degree in Studio Art. After graduation, Mr. Brown settled into a string of ordinary jobs, practically extinguishing his desire to create art. The painting bug would not hit him again until 2001 when he was commissioned by the City of Austin to do a mural for one of the Solid Waste Services building. With that project under his belt, he began painting murals for local businesses, and working with musicians to produce artwork for albums and venues. During these years as an artist, Douglas mixed together his various passions in life: music, comic books, and of course, women. While working with musicians was entertaining, the effort put forth was not worth the returns financially. Mr. Brown then taught himself computers and began work as a graphic designer at albumartist.com, which he continues to this day.
What really set Mr. Brown's art in its current direction was a trip made to Panama for Carnaval. During this trip, he was exposed to the vibrant music and colors of his Mother's family, and the intricate patterns of Kuna indian Molas. When Mr. Brown returned, he set to work painting with renewed vigor, incorporating imagery inspired by the flora of the rainforests, and the intricate detail of Mayan art. Aside from Mayan art, Mr. Brown also looked to other cultures for inspiration, namely, the glorious architecture of Andalusia and the sensual body decoration of Mendhi.
With all of these elements in place, Mr. Brown's art aims to capture the strength, sensuality and grace of the female form, making these women characters in semi narrative scenes, the story of which is created by the viewer.Many of these illustrations seen here are rendered with both traditional media such as ink and graphite, then color is added in the computer. The process is the same used as modern comic book artists, a major source of Mr. Brown's inspiration.