Charles Dean's Profile on BoundlessGallery.com

Member since:
Mar-07-07
Registered in:
United States

Charles Frank Dean - Who is this guy? During the winter months, Charles Dean paints landscapes in oil and watercolor from his boat and from his studio in northern Florida. In the spring, summer and fall he travels and paints outdoors in New England and the Western States - with the support and companionship of wife Susana and his favorite "art critic", their dog "Mac". He was born in Spokane Washington in 1934 into a family that included several artists and musicians. He started sketching as a young boy [see more]

Charles Frank Dean - Who is this guy?
During the winter months, Charles Dean paints landscapes in oil and watercolor from his boat and from his studio in northern Florida. In the spring, summer and fall he travels and paints outdoors in New England and the Western States - with the support and companionship of wife Susana and his favorite "art critic", their dog "Mac".
He was born in Spokane Washington in 1934 into a family that included several artists and musicians. He started sketching as a young boy during hiking and fishing vacations at the lakes north of Spokane. He painted his first landscapes in oil on canvas at the age of 14. His formal art and design training includes one year at the school of Architecture at the University of Idaho (1953) followed by four years in the School of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle - then one year at the Graduate School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His early professional design career included preparation of architectural renderings for the Architectural firm of Walker, McGoff and Trogdon in Spokane and later as Designer for the U.S. Office of International Trade Fairs (OITF) based in Washington DC. He was the Assistant Designer for the American Pavilion at the World Fair in Cairo, Egypt in 1960 and traveled to Egypt to supervise the construction. In 1961 he was appointed OITF Design Architect for the American Pavilion at the International Fair in Osaka, Japan. After supervising construction of the pavilion in Osaka, he was honored to escort Princess Michiko (now the Empress of Japan) on her opening day tour of the American Pavilion. In 1962 Charles Dean was the OITF Design Architect for the American Pavilion at the international fair in Karachi, Pakistan, where he supervised its construction. While in Pakistan, he also assisted in the design of an emergency village for several thousand refugees from the war between Pakistan and India. That experience led to a career change starting in 1964 - when he began work on programs for the design and construction of emergency housing for refugees from war and natural disasters funded by the US Agency for International Development, USAID. During the period from 1964 until 2004, he had primary responsibility for USAID projects in more than 30 developing countries of Central and South America, Africa, the Mid-East and Asia. His work directly benefited more than 100,000 refugees and poor people with improved housing, water and sanitation systems and community facilities over a period of 40 years. Highlights of his career include design and construction of housing and essential services following earthquakes in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala and following hurricanes "Fifi" and "Mitch" in Honduras. He was also responsible for design and implementation of war reconstruction and refugee assistance in Lebanon, Vietnam, Panama and El Salvador - during years of armed conflicts in those countries.
During his many years living in foreign countries he combined his love of nature and art during hiking, sketching and fishing trips in the jungles of Central America, the mountains of South America and remote areas of Asia, Africa and the former Soviet Union. He is now retired from international work and divides his time among his family/grandchildren, painting, boating and fishing. He is a member of Oil Painters of America, the National Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society. His paintings have been displayed and sold in juried art exhibitions and galleries in North Florida. He is presently concentrating on representational landscapes in oil - but continues to use watercolor for quick field studies. On rare occasions, he paints abstracts as a way to refresh his basic skills in design, composition and for value and color studies


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