Dale Phelps
Original signed and numbered hand pulled relief prints
Waterloo Iowa

Visions from within.

            I am a retired orthopedic surgeon. A year before retirement I started taking classes in the art department at the University of Northern Iowa. I have always loved art, especially prints. For years I made Christmas cards with woodcuts or linoleum prints. I always wanted to know more of this craft so pursued it.

            Early on I found myself drawing on college notebook margins, agendas, outlines, walls etc. I did this automatically without thinking about the image until well into it.  I started bringing sketch books to conferences and found that I was able to draw and at the same time actively participate in the meeting.  While at the University of Northern Iowa I tried, with varying degrees of success, to incorporate automatism into making art.

             I have had a rich life as an orthopedic surgeon, farmer  and frequent world traveler. I have been living with prostate cancer for the last 15 years. All my art in one way or another ultimately comes from my life experiences, consciously or subconsciously, but mostly from my imagination as opposed to photographic or real time images.