David Berg     
Artist/Printmaker, Superior Lookout Studio

ABOUT ME
I am a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and grateful everyday to wake up and enjoy this outdoor wonderland.  I am fortunate to be able to create art in a home studio overlooking Lake Superior, but also from a fire lookout-inspired cabin that is perched on a hill across the bay from my home.  I designed and built The Lookout as part of a midlife transition and it is an important part of my identity and a part I like to share with others. I frequently share my art and images from The Lookout through my Instagram account, so please follow me there.  

ARTIST STATEMENT
I have a love of this place and I try to capture that love in images that can serve as my own personal scrapbook, but are general enough for others to claim as well.   Many of my subjects are trees and landscapes that evoke a sense of familiarity if not immediate recognition. I like saturated colors and somewhat stylized images that are the things of memories.  Whether a scene, a shape or just a color, I want to share an experience with people through my art.

PROCESS
It was following the construction of The Lookout that I began exploring art through woodcut and linocut.  I found these prints to be deceptively simple looking, but in fact require a great deal of practice, planning, skills, and a bit of luck to create quality images.  Relief prints are created when surface area is carved from a flat plate of wood or linoleum. The surface of the plate is then inked and transferred to paper by hand or press to make an image, leaving the carved area unaffected.  I generally use a reduction technique in which this process is repeated in a successive manner of carving, inking, and pressing the same block until the image is complete.  The lightest areas of the image are generally created first followed by the darker colors.  I aim for a consistent looking image across a small number of prints.  This process provides near endless opportunities for mistakes, which makes it very challenging, but also very rewarding when things work as desired.    There is some slight variability to each print which is part of the nature of handmade prints.  All prints here are considered fine art and have been printed with professional inks on archival paper.  I welcome any inquiries on a print and will provide alternate photographs if desired.  

EVENTS AND AWARDS
2022
Art Plus, Périgueux, France. 12 pieces selected for an international print exhibition 
Munising DDA contest: Chapel Rock print selected for banners in the host city of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Bonifas Art Center: Northern Exposure Juried show: Media award and Alberta House Featured Artist award

2023
Sault Area Art Center Annual Juried show: Top of the World print selected for Best in Show award
Sault Area Art Center: Alberta House Gallery featured exhibit for winners of Bonifas Northern Exposure show
Bonifas Art Center: More Than a Uniform exhibit
Bonifas Art Center: Northern Exposure Juried show: Tom’s Lake selected for Media award

2024
Huron Mountain Club Gallery of the Peter White Public Library Solo exhibit

All pieces displayed at the gallery are also available unframed less the cost of the frame ($50-$75). 
For more of David Berg's art, visit https://www.superiorlookout.com