Damon LaGarry Fine Art & Photography
damonlagarry@yahoo.com
Around the spring of 1993, I gave away virtually everything I owned, apart from some clothes and art supplies, and hit the road.  I’m often asked why I left New York and how I ended up in Las Cruces New Mexico… Truth is I had no idea where I’d end up, or what I’d do when I got there!  One of the more spontaneous choices in my life to be sure, but more on that later…
I was born, raised, and spent most of my less adventurous years in small towns between the northern border of the Adirondack Mountains and the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York.  During these years, I found myself managing a 5 Star Restaurant, selling computers, and working for Custom Pearl Inlay, which was a Custom Shop for the Martin Guitar Company in Nazareth Pennsylvania.  And none of these really allowed for pursuing a path as a Painter, which even at that time was something I did more or less as a hobby or just to pass the time.  The real joy in my life at this point was the time I could spent hiking the Adirondacks, and boating the St. Lawrence and other waters of the region.  I’d always enjoyed painting and drawing, and the time spent "out of doors" was my chief inspiration for almost everything I did at that point, and those influences are still present in most of what I do today.  Wildlife, as abundant at it was in the Adirondacks, quickly became my focus.
Mentors, with regard to painting came very early in life for me, in the form of Robert Plumb and Margaret Marshall.  Plumb, a watercolorist and photographer, whom I barely had time to know before his passing, was a skilled painter in the style of John Singer Sergeant.  Marshall, also extremely talented on her own, was simply one of those perfect and beautiful people, both inside and out.  Together they encouraged and instructed me in Photography, Painting, Sculpture, Jewelry Design and every possible media you could imagine.  And, in a way, everything I’ve done since is due to their investment in me.  I hope someday, possibly in the hereafter, to thank them for all they had done…  My university education, as limited as it was, was in Art History and Restoration.  Although I didn’t finish university, the experience taught me a focus and discipline I don’t think is present in most painters.  I was fortunate to attend school at time when the spotlight was on the fundamentals of art and the refinement of an individual’s style, and not the politics of the day or the contemporary existentialism of the instructors.
So… I’m in Las Cruces New Mexico, more or less by accident, and a bit of a tale in itself.  Here I worked as the Manager of the Brass Cactus Bistro in Mesilla, prior to meeting and working for Nancy Charles-Byres at Charles Incorporated.  Charles Incorporated, as a Design Studio and Fine Art Gallery, provided me a venue for displaying and marketing my paintings.  Prior to this point I hadn’t painted for about 10 years, and owing to Nancy’s encouragement, I once again got involved in Art.  Although still at this point I was only painting a couple of pieces a year. Nancy, whom I consider my only contemporary mentor, taught me many things, including the value of proper framing and art presentation as a design element.  And it is solely through her encouragement and support that I would have ever even considered painting as an occupation.  All you see here is due to Nancy and those few people whom so long ago believed in me and the value of creativity.
Thank you....
Damon
damonlagarry@yahoo.com
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