David J Collins

David Collins is a fourth-generation Coloradoan and fine artist whose work is rooted in a lifelong study of the natural world. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree, graduating cum laude, from the New York Academy of Art, where he was awarded a scholarship.

Painting en plein air is central to his artistic practice. Working directly from nature, he is continually inspired by changing light, shifting weather, and the beauty and variety of the landscape. He believes that no photograph can fully replace the experience of standing before a landscape, where changing light, atmosphere, and direct observation continually reveal new possibilities for painting. Whether painting close to home in the American West or traveling in search of new subjects throughout Europe, he values the challenge of observing and interpreting each place firsthand.

His paintings are included in corporate collections throughout the United States and have been exhibited with the American Impressionist Society, the American Academy of Equine Art, Laguna Plein Air Painters, and galleries in Colorado, California, New Mexico, and New York. He has participated in numerous plein air events throughout the American West, where his work has received multiple awards.

For nearly three decades, Collins has also taught drawing, painting, life drawing, and human and animal anatomy at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Lakewood, Colorado, where he enjoys sharing the traditions of observational drawing and painting with the next generation of artists.