ALLEN LEE VANDEVER Artist Statement - I feel an artists body of work is his unwritten biography, archiving his progress in both craftsmanship and self-discovery, all the while capturing the most personal and essential moments in his life, and revealing his personal reflections.In my painting, I feel free from the jumble of words all too limited in their ability to fully illustrate an image of my sensations and reflections. Painting is a way to bypass the filter of conscious analysis bypassing the point where we attempt to name and catalog our responses, which often diminishes the true glory of the moment.I am free to explore my dreams, very often so intensely alive that they continue to exist in my sight in the material world. I have yet to find the words capable of illustrating such glorious visions, so I paint them that I may relive them, and that I might apply a pinprick into the veil between our worlds allowing a speck of light to illuminate its existence to others. I aspire to reveal such worlds to my son, that the images from my journey inspire him to begin his own exploration, for a mere sliver of light is enough to bring the world gushing forth, demolishing the walls that confine our thoughts.Although I fail to find the words to convey my passion, I cannot deny their role in my reflection, for words have allowed me to further explore the images I have been moved to create. For when I write, I am transported into the silent realm of the mind, where the voices of human reason and passion can be heard in intimate conversation, contemplating the infinite dimensions of being. Bio - In a recent interview, Allen Vandever states: "I have never been normal. I have three wonderful sets of parents and have lived in 13 different homes while growing up. Education was interesting - football scholarship, spinal injury, chemistry major, art major, psychology minor, yoga school and pimp school. I've been a New Orleans street artist, farm hand, hospice worker, and a leather S&M store manager. I've worked for a women's spirituality magazine, a TV studio, Greenpeace, art galleries. I've been an owner of an import business and a full time artist. I have been rich. I have been poor. I've lived in a VW bus and in a beautiful condo on the beach in Hawaii. I have mastered lucid dreaming and am working on lucid awakeness. My goal in life to be the best person father/partner/artist possible. General Information: Born 1971 APRIL 13THGender : Male Location: Chicago