Darrell Ishmael
I am the product of an artistic family with textile arts, quilting and rug making the primary artistic influence. I developed a passion for water-based paints over 30 years ago and have since developed my unique signature of utilizing Kentucky coal, Kentucky River sand (coastal sand while wintering in the south) and other materials. Photos do not do the work justice as the heavy textures allow light to bring interest, serenity and healing to the landscapes and seascapes, while allowing the dynamic and high energy of equine subjects to move across the space as light changes. Each piece is unique and original with no prints ever produced.
Selected Exhibitions/Collections
Main Street Beautification Project - Breeders Cup Festival -- 2022
"Unbridled" Breeders Cup Special - Artist's Attic -- 2022
"How to be Beautiful" Lexington Public Library Gallery -- 2022
Vero Beach Museum of Art - Art by the Sea -- 2021 - 2022
Art Center of the Bluegrass Abstract Invitational "Open to Interpretation" -- 2020
MD Rezney Gallery - Arts Connect -- 2019
St. Joseph Hospital Foundation Healing Arts (solo) -- 2019
Vero Beach Art Club - "Art on the Island" -- 2017
Artist's Attic - "Go Figure" Lexington, KY -- 2017
Archival Gallery "Collaborations" - Sacramento, CA -- 2016
St Joseph Foundation Arts in Healing Program - Fayette and Montgomery County Kentucky -- 2015 - 2018
ArtsPlace Gallery - "Of the Earth" - Lexington, KY -- 2015
Kentucky Arts Council - "Music Scenes" - Juried-Norton Center for the Arts (part of statewide tour) Centre College, Danville, KY -- 2015
Danville Community Arts Center - Danville, KY "New Horizons - Contemporary Landscapes" (juried) -- 2014
Artist's Attic, "Organic Perspectives" (solo) -- 2014
The Temp Contemporary Gallery - Sacramento, CA -- 2013
Adamsons Gallery - "Unbridled" Sacramento, CA -- 2013
Art at the Cathedral "Shaped by Water" (juried) -- 2012
Danville Community Arts Center "New Horizons - Contemporary Landscapes" (juried) -- 2012
Gateway Regional Arts Retrospective -- 2012
Milward's Art Gallery "An Art Visitation" (solo) -- 2012
Kentucky Office of the Governor/Capitol Rotunda (solo) -- 2011
Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games - Featured Artist Alltech Pavilion -- 2011
Gateway Regional Arts Council " A Sense of Place" (solo) -- 2011
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Building Dedication -- 2010
Main Cross Gallery "A Unique Face of Coal" (solo) -- 2010
Main Cross Gallery Lexington, KY "The Earth, The Coast, and One Petrified Fish" (solo) - voted ACE Mag "One of the Best Lexington Visual Art Exhibits of the Year" -- 2008
Organizations/Community Involvement
Past Directorships - Headley - Whitney Museum of Art, Downtown Lexington Corporation, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Commerce Lexington, Rotary Club of Lexington and many others.
Education
BGS, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Kentucky
University of Hawaii
