Growing Up....
Growing up in Northern WI was adventurous. As a young boy I would go behind my house and play in the woods for countless hours. The woods would bring me a calm and happy feeling. I would play in the creek nestled in the cedar forest and would walk up and down the creek searching for little critters in the water. Nature was my nurture at that time. I didn't have many friends that lived close by to play with but that was ok because I had my older brother and younger sister. We would build little forts and find things to do to keep us out of trouble. This was the start of My Love with Nature.
Love for Art...
My love for art has always been ingrained in me as long as I can remember. My father would tell me about the projects that my Great Grandpa Ralph De Gayner would work on. Pictured to the right is of my Great Grandpa working on one of the 60 violins he had made during his life. He had a small home-workshop located in Channing, MI next to Silver Lake resort on M-95. He also made laminated bow and arrows. He worked for Fred Bear when my Grandma was 16 years old down in Grayling MI.
Ralph De Gayner was also into painting. He was in a newspaper article called "Strange as it Seems." He painted very fine pictures using an ordinary spray gun with auto enamel. Pictured to the left is of him using his spray gun.
Art Passed Down....
My father has always loved art. As a young boy my father had ADHD and Dyslexia so he would channel it with his drawings . Later on he would carve birds out of driftwood. His passion for birds had been passed down from my Great Grandpa Ralph. My dad would sneak into the refrigerator and would find birds wrapped in plastic. Great Grandpa Ralph would take carcasses from off the road. He would then study the vivid colors and use them for his paintings.
My dad used many pieces of wood and glued them together to form birds. He also loves carving old wizard faces and animals. As a kid I would listen to these stories and watch him carve. He taught me alot about perspective and color.
My mother was into painting ceramics and she would give me many crafts to do as a young boy. She showed me how to slow down and take my time with the intricate brushstrokes.
Love for Our Country....
My dad's father Jim Dault Sr. was drafted during WW2. He was a Korean War Veteran. He used to tell me stories about the times he had in Guam as a carpenter. He loved the military and loved building using his masonry skills as well as his master woodworking skills. My dad followed in his footsteps and was an engineer in the army. He served most of his four years in Texas where he met my mother who was serving there also. The stories my grandpa would tell me really inspired me to serve in the National Guard as a mechanic. I joined when I was 17 years old. I did a stateside tour to Louisiana and helped out during Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after that I was called to go to Iraq for The Iraqi Freedom War. I was 23 years old when I went to Baghdad, Iraq.
Leaving....
Returning from Iraq was truly one of the hardest things. My friends didn't understand who I was. Trying to transition was very difficult for us soldiers. After hitting rock bottom I had some neighbors that were planning on going to Asia to become English Teachers. Not taking any time to think about the decision I quickly purchased my plane ticket and went to Thailand to go to school. I earned my Tefl Certificate and headed to Hanoi Vietnam. That is where I lived for the past 9 years. I met my wife in Hanoi and she really pushed me into getting back to painting. During my time of teaching I picked back up on painting. I was buying rolls of canvas and acrylic paint. I would sell my paintings from Vietnam and send them home rolled up in a tube to my dad where he would frame the paintings and then send them out to the client. The last year living in Vietnam was in my wife's little village. It was difficult because not many people knew how to speak English. I felt like the last Samurai there.
Coming Home....
After ten long years I have decided it was time to come home with my new family. My wife is one of my biggest supporters who has always believed in me. It was a hard decision to come back to America. Life was really easy in Vietnam and much more easy living. My artwork though has brought me to many places. I hope to continue on with my journeys. Life is a struggle and without painting I don't know where I would be.
