A broken doll. A grinning skeleton. A delicate bracelet.

Greetings from Planet Hoffend: a provocative, charming little satellite in a not-so-distant galaxy.

This Rochester, NY, artist has been sketching photorealistic pictures since he was knee-high to a graphite pencil. But even after he earned his BFA in illustration from RIT—and went on to work as an illustrator for the late McCurdy & Co. department store—he was just getting warmed up.

David“In my late 20s, a few friends recommended that I try putting my eye for detail into other media besides drawing and painting,” he says. “So I started working on painstakingly detailed jewelry and hand-knit sweaters.”

That would partly explain David’s signature look of sweaters, scarves, necklaces and rings. Which is where his work really shines. And jingles. And rattles. And clickety clacks. Every day, he has a brand-new arrangement of ornaments on his hands and around his neck as he heads out to work.

"Halloween"And speaking of work, some might say this guy has the best of both worlds. David can pursue art to his heart’s content. Plus he works full time as a purchasing agent and web manager for Rochester Art Supply, where he gets to meet other artists every day.

Sometimes people who admire his work tell him he should be selling it more. But David doesn’t see the need. He’s in it for the enjoyment.

“It may sound naïve,” he says, “but to me, the best compliment is ‘hey, that's a beautiful piece’ not ‘hey, you could sell that for a lot of money.’”

Nope, money isn’t the inspiration here. David gets his inspiration from others who have an eye for detail—and genres where the surreal comes into play.

“Movies by Tim Burton that have incredible detail and artistry, but they also take you out of reality,” he says.

"Lovers"“I'm also a huge fan of artwork by Pre-Raphaelites, like Waterhouse, and Bouguereau,” he says. “They had such an eye for detail, but their subject matter takes you out of the ‘real’ world. Lets you escape.”

And David certainly likes to get away.

“My artwork is my escape from the world,” he says. “It allows me to live on my own little planet.”

 

See more: www.fineartstore.com

Say hi: davidhoffend@gmail.com