Art is my third career. I was a journalist for nine years and an American diplomat for 35. As a reporter, I covered the revolution in Lisbon, civil war in Beirut, and political and economic change in the Arab world. As a diplomat, I served in 11 overseas posts throughout Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, including as Consul General in both Dubai and Jerusalem, Assistant Chief of Mission in Kabul, and U.S. Ambassador to Algeria and to Greece.
Travel nourished a lifetime habit of drawing and sketching. In Algiers in 2009 I began a course of self-study in drawing, perspective, and color. That led to watercolors. I loved the translucent quality of the medium and the constant challenge of turning sudden developments into opportunity. In both watercolors and diplomacy things do not always turn out as planned. You have to make the best of the situation as it is, not as you would like it to be. My paintings reflect what I see as essential about a given subject and tend to the semi-abstract.
After leaving the Foreign Service I established David D Pearce Fine Art and created a web site (www.daviddpearce.com) to exhibit work. I added a second website for prints (www.GeoGalleries/ddpearcefineart) and, recently, an Etsy store (www.etsy.com/shop/ddpearcefineart). I send a monthly email newsletter to followers and post new work on social media including Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. Gradually, the tribe has grown and my paintings can be found in private collections in eight U.S. states and five foreign countries. I divide my time between my home state of Maine and San Clemente. Best of all, six years into this great adventure, I am doing what I love and still learning every day.