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Bio

To painter Don Trager, the best art is the kind that seems almost effortless. “You don’t want people to look at the artwork and sense that a valiant effort was needed to create a picture,” he laughs. “It shouldn’t be laborious to understand. You want the viewer to be able to ease into the painting, explore it, and enjoy it – that same way you painted it. They should be able to take off their shoes and put their feet in the water.”

Not surprisingly, Trager’s artwork possesses an anabashedly inviting appeal. Utilizing an active, naturalistic color palette, he brings an evocative warmth to the sunlite skies of his expansive landscape – particularly in the paintings he has been creating for the past 3 ½ years, a series he calls “dreamscapes.”

“They’re places in my imagination and memory,” explains Trager. “I’ll go to place, and rather than getting bogged down in the details of depicting how it actually looks, I try to paint how it feels. They’re a bit reminiscent of the part of Texas where I grew up – with a lot of wide-open spaces, flat plains, and gently rolling hills – but it could be anywhere, really. If you could find the ideal place to have a picnic, that’s where it would be.”

Until recently, Trager has primarily used acrylic-on-paper in creating his moderate sized paintings; but more and more, oil-on-canvas has begun to emerge as his medium of choice, and he looks forward to working on larger format pieces in the future. Regardless of the size or medium, Trager adamantly believes that art should be comfortable, user friendly, and ultimately provide a liberating experience for each viewer. “I want people to look at the picture on the wall and -- even thought they might not have a window – feel like they’re looking out on nature. I don’t use any animals or man-made objects in my paintings. If you put a cow in there, the question becomes “who’s cow it it?”, certainly not he person viewing the picture. If you put in a fence, it’s a barrier – it belongs to someone else. Instead, I want people to be able to project themselves into the picture and make it theirs. I want these pieces to belong to the viewer.”

Born in 1940 in Dallas, Texas, Trager’s art interests began early in grade school, and by age 15 had sold his first painting (“for a bowl of beans,” he chuckles). After receiving formal training in printmaking, silk screening and etching, he eventually embarked on his career as a painter, living in various locations throughout the western U.S. before settling down in central Arizona four years ago.

When not busily working on his paintings, Trager contributes political cartoons to a local Arizona newsletter, The Burro Chronicles, which features satirical articles and insights alongside some serious investigative Journalism. But for now, painting offers Trager his biggest challenge – and greatest satisfaction. “There is so much to learn. That’s the challenge of art. If you’re not constantly striving to create a better picture, you shouldn’t be making art in the first place. You’ve got to believe that your next painting is going to be your best.”

DONTRAGER