Damian Stuck found his love for oil painting at the age of six due to his childhood which was filled with moments that would impact his life forever. Now, Stuck strives to influence people worldwide with his symbolic oil paintings while taking influence from amazing artists such as Salvador Dali and Franz Stuck.
Damian Stuck is a local Tampa Bay artist who specializes in oil paints. At the young age of six, Damian was inspired to paint after reading scary books that his mother had given him, he was even more inspired when his mom didn’t show the support he was expecting and ripped the sketch pad away from him. With his passion and his childhood background, he made it his mission to be great and says that his childhood has a lot to do with what he creates.
Stuck specifically does oil paintings because they are intriguing and allow for greater flexibility and richer and denser colors. The use of layers and a wide range of light to dark makes it versatile. This process can be quite tedious when it comes to drying. Therefore, it is important that Stuck ensures one layer is completely dry before moving on to the next.
His biggest dream is to one day be as big as Salvador Dali, who was a Spanish surrealist artist known for his technical skills, precise craftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images. Along with Salvador Dali’s art, Stuck states that he also loves painting fear, tragedy, and horror. Some words that describe Stuck’s pieces would be mysterious, endure, and suffer. Stuck states, “Best way I can put it is that some people create a life of suffering and Hell, and some are born in it.” In other words, the environment he was raised in greatly impacted who he is today and what he comes across through his paintings.
Stuck’s biggest inspiration for his art is life itself; everything around him influences what he paints, and he also takes into consideration the past and the present. Damian says that he strives to create illusions because illusions impact the world. Illusions distort the senses, revealing how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort our perception of reality, they generally are shared by most people. Stuck states, “I don’t get inspired; I get possessed,” meaning he is fully consumed by whatever the inspiration may be. When looking back on past mistakes, Stuck realizes that he was creating art solely to make other people happy instead of creating what he wanted. He now creates paintings that he hopes will inspire and help others. Being satisfied with his own work is the most important at the end of the day because he wants to stand by and believe in everything he makes. When considering something he would change about the world, Stuck says, “Humanity has no ultimate goal. It would be to create one.’’ When analyzing this, it’s clear that it’s true; everyone has their own separate goals that apply to them. However, we as a world do not have one thing that we are specifically working on to better ourselves as a whole. Stuck not only takes the time to create such meaningful art pieces but also takes time to assess the world and think about things in a deeper manner.
Stuck’s favorite painting and what he takes the most inspiration from is “The Sin,” painted by Franz Stuck, a German artist in 1893. The painting is an example of symbolism, the same style Stuck strives to achieve. Symbolism is the idea that things represent other things.
