About Derek

Derek was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1975. Derek has been interested in drawing and painting since he was a child. He has lived in Indiana, Ireland and West Africa. He currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife Kathryn and daughter Isabel.

Derek Powell maintains a studio (A-350) at the Stutz Building, 1060 N. Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN. Private tours of Derek’s studio space can be arranged by using the Contact page.

Derek has a BS in Art Education from Taylor University, Upland, IN. He is a member of the Stutz Artists Association (stutzartists.com). He is a founding member and Treasurer of the Limner Society (limnersociety.com), a group that seeks to awaken a visual art renaissance in the church.

Artist’s Statement

For me, creating artwork is a means of exploration where the process is as important as the final product. It is a way to process thoughts visually and a way to react to all of the visual stimulus in my world. It is also a means of discovering new abilities and growing/stretching those abilities.

There is something very profound that happens in the creative process. A large part of my identity longs to explore the depths of creating. So, I believe that I am, in a sense, coming home when I am creating. I am doing what I am meant to do. And to me, doing what I am meant to do is a form of worship. Hopefully something about this creative process comes across in the finished work— the process of interpreting beauty and my attempt to create a quiet, meditative visual space.

It’s important for me to remain open to the way a piece of work is going. Along the way, it’s essential to not have everything planned- to not have all the answers. This opens up the potential of a piece and allows me to step outside of my preconceptions for the work. I feel like some of my strongest pieces have taken directions that were completely unplanned during the composition sketches for the work.

Several other artists’ work has influenced my work, including, but not limited to: Willem De Kooning, Cy Twombly, Joseph Turner, Susan Rothenberg, and George Inness.