About the site

Welcome to David Makes Paintings: The Website. The purpose of this site is to act as an extension to the YouTube sensation: David Makes Paintings, featuring the work of DAKURTZ (David A. Kurtz): Artist and host of the show.

About the show

David Makes Paintings is a video show (YouTube) that explores the “hidden” side of painting and the creation process with a mix of technique, opinion and downright lunacy. Each episode will either show the process of creating a new painting from start to finish or highlight a specific feature of the painting process with opinion based facts and artistic information.

About the artist

Born in Tulsa, OK. From an early age, David was driven to create, always drawing and painting on things-including the walls of his childhood home. Clearly excelling in art from an early age  (1989 to 1994), David attended an after-school art program, where he studied drawing and painting under the direction of Ross Meyer, an Oklahoma based Landscape Artist. He also attended an instructional art program at Johnson's Atelier - Summer Arts Education Collective (1988-1992). 

While attending The Weitzenhoffer College of Fine Arts In Norman Oklahoma, Kurtz studied under artists Julie Green, David Hissey and Dr. Andrew Phelan to name a few. His senior year David met visiting artist, Joe Andoe, a prominent Oklahoma artist now living In NYC, and was Inspired by his bold technique and aesthetic. During this time, Kurtz participated in several exhibitions, including two end of year shows at the Fred Jones Jr Museum of Modern Art and the Lightwell Gallery, which was often reserved for visiting artists.

In 2001, David moved to Denver, CO, where he turned toward music performance and live painting. His involvement in the Denver Music scene lead him to form Bocumast Records, releasing over 50 albums from local and national acts during its historic rise in the Mountainous State.

While in Denver, Kurtz started Rilla Creative, a gallery/creative space and design services company. The space would have group shows every 6-8 weeks with opening night events featuring live music, experimental films and performance art.

In 2013, Kurtz moved to San Francisco, California to pursue a career in design, photography and art. It is here that he met Ben Goorin of Goorin Bros hats, where he worked as Marketing Creative Director for a few years before moving on to work as Creative Manager for Flickr/SmugMug.

When he isn't creating, David gathers inspiration from photo walks (check out his photo work here: monoram.com) either through the city, exploring the weirder side of California, or while traveling, capturing the sights and sounds of new and adventurous locations.