Artist Bio
Although Born in Queens NY, Doug Auld grew up in New Jersey. As a child, he had a love and fascination with nature and wildlife as well as mechanical things. Curious as to how things worked, he enjoyed taking things apart and re-assembling them. Second in a family of four and son of a car dealer, he went to a trade high school and studied mechanics with the intention of working at his dad’s Chrysler dealership. In his last year of high school, his life's course changed upon going to see the band The Doors play at the Spectrum in Philadelphia PA. He began studying the piano and classical music forming a band and eventually writing 18 pieces of original music. His band East Agony played in several venues around the NY/NJ area including CBGB in NYC. As he became frustrated with the music business, his artistic side began finding an outlet in the visual arts after visiting the Salvador Dali Museum in Cleveland Ohio. Primarily self-taught, Doug pursued painting, eventually taking continuing Ed courses at the Art Students League, School of Visual Arts and The New York Academy in NYC.
State of Grace Website
Most recently Doug Auld completed a three year project titled "State of Grace" consisting of ten large scale realist portraits of adolescent burn survivors.
Dougs goal is to organize a traveling exhibition with the hope of bringing awareness to the hidden world of burn survivors.
- The New York Times featured the project in a front page story of their "Metro Section" in June of 2006.
- His painting "Shayla" is on display at the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Doug is the first Artist to display a burn survivor portrait at the Smithsonian.
- Doug was a recent guest at "The Art of Recovery " the 33rd yearly event for the Regional Burn Centers held at the Philadelphia Museum.
- Doug and burn survivor volunteer Jealani Jeffries , recently spoke at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice,NYC,USA
- Interviewed on radio station WFME, and NJ Hudson Cablevision 2006