Artist Darrell Chitty has maneuvered a long and circuitous route to arrive at the position of success he now holds in the art world.
A native of Houma, down in the heart of south Louisiana Cajun country, Chitty’s father owned a thriving oil transport business. This success led him to the development of a ship yard and along the way, to Darrell Chitty actually building boats. This was a logical interest, as Darrell had served as a riverboat pilot at the age of 18 on the storied Mississippi River. When the oil and gas industry took a severe downturn around 1979, the elder Chitty sold his business. This left Darrell with the clear indication it was time for a change of occupation. It also served as a perfect time to not only change his job path, but to relocate as well.
In 1980, Darrell moved north to the Shreveport area and was soon off and running toward a lucrative career as a school photographer. After 10 years of success photographing students for yearbooks and student portraits, Chitty decided to take on a further step toward being a fullfledged, full-time artist.
Though photography, in and of itself, is certainly an art form, Chitty wanted to take it a good step further into the digital realm.
“My first digital camera was a $25,000 piece of equipment,” Chitty said, “so I had committed to going after the digital market in a big way. I had certainly seen the writing on the proverbial wall and knew this was the direction the photography and art business was taking.”
His original inspirations in the field of art were varied, as he had long studied the “masters” while visiting the great museums of the world from New York City to London to Rome and Florence.
“I particularly was drawn to the Impressionist masters such as Claude Monet and Camille Pisarro,” Chitty said, “but also found great inspiration in John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and the Spanish Impressionist Joaquin Sorolla.”
For five years, Chitty studied with artist Jeremy Sutton in San Francisco and continued to be inspired by the masters both old and new.
“I always felt that to be great you had to learn from the greats, so studying the masters has always been important to me,” Chitty said.
More formally, Chitty earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Harding University in Arkansas as well as a master’s degree from Lamar University in Texas.
“In my art today, I try to replicate the techniques of the old masters. I do start with a digital images, which I then transfer to canvas,” Chitty said.
“Beginning with the software program Corel Painter, I have been able to custom-create palette knives and brushes that I use digitally to work with on my art pieces today,” Chitty said.
Though considered one of the pioneers of the digital art movement, Chitty cannot wait to take it even further.
Local art aficionados can see Chitty’s masterful work in person on Thursday, May 11, at the Woman’s Department Club in Shreveport, where he will have 15 to 20 pieces on display. There will be an opening reception, with Chitty in attendance, at the Woman’s Department Club, 802 Margaret Place, on May 11 from 6-8:30 p.m. Their phone number is 222-4186.
“Though Darrell has done some classes and lectures for us in the past,” said Shirley Kelly, Woman’s Club general manager, “we are very proud to have him exhibiting his beautiful and innovative art here on May 11.”
The exhibit theme and title is “The Magic of Childhood,” which represents children doing what children do.
“I think to be a great artist, you have to think as a child,” Chitty said.
Though initially Chitty encountered some in the art community who looked down on the digital medium, that stigma is long gone.
“It is very gratifying to create something from nothing,” Chitty said of what he loves most about being a creative artist.
Over the years, Chitty has not only learned from the masters, he has also served as mentor and teacher to others as a way of passing on the torch of talent. He still has a small coterie of students whom he teaches in his home.
Chitty’s work and technique ably show his artful melding of the old and new, and he has seemingly mastered both.
– Karl Hasten
Photos special to CityLife
