About

 

The Art of Dave Rasel

Dave Rasel is a painter of paradoxes—wild yet composed, spiritual yet grounded, regional yet universal. Trained by observation and guided by instinct, Rasel moves effortlessly between oil painting, illustration, and design, creating works that echo both the quiet order of nature and the chaos of urban sprawl. His compositions, often built around the balance of positive and negative space, are deeply allegorical—landscapes, cityscapes, and wildlife scenes that hum with symbolic resonance.

Rooted in the raw textures of Pennsylvania woodlands and shaped by formative journeys through the American West, Rasel’s palette is rich with memory and meaning. His work evokes the impressionists, but pulses with contemporary rhythm—a pigeon on a wire rendered with the same reverence as a mountain lion on the prowl. Whether painting en plein air or in his studio, his method—frequently alla prima—captures fleeting light with immediacy and emotion.

At the heart of Rasel’s art lies an almost mystical fascination with the golden mean, the so-called "fingerprint of God." This subtle geometry threads through his work like a quiet hymn, visible in spirals of composition and structural harmony. Every canvas becomes an act of exploration—of nature, form, and the divine patterns behind them.

Rasel's art is not merely seen—it is encountered. Each piece invites viewers to pause, observe, and perhaps glimpse the sacred symmetry within the everyday.