Dick Allowatt, was born in Fairmont, West Virginia who lived in a small coal-mining town in Marion County before moving to Charleston when he was five years old.

Mr. Allowatt is an outstanding artist who specializes in mixed media and collages.  Devoting over thirty years making art, it is quite clear that Mr. Allowatt has a profound love and appreciation of art.

Allowatt is a graduate of Charleston Catholic High School, and encourages all CCHS art students to take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy local art and to get involved in the local art scene.

Early Life
Mr. Allowatt grew up creating art in his early years.  He remembers drawing popular cartoon characters for his grade and school classmates.  When I asked him about how he learned art, he remarked, “I was basically self-taught, grabbing a class here and there throughout my life.”  He also said that his family always encouraged him growing up, but art wasn’t something that was taken seriously as a livelihood.  He was very self-motivated and enjoyed creating art.  Mr. Allowatt said if he could have changed one thing, he would have grown up in a more artistic environment where he would have pursued art more aggressively.  In a nutshell, Mr. Allowatt is very satisfied with his support on the home front and has been inspired by everyone around him.

Inspiration/Admiration
Allowatt is inspired by works of other artists.  He says he learns from their techniques and experiences and uses what he learns to create new art.  He is also inspired by overlooked found elements that can be the catalyst for new works of art.  He enjoys shopping at flea markets, traveling and attending art events, which are all great places for new inspiration.  He also says, “Whenever I feel I’m having artist block, I may skim through my collection of books on artists I admire including Fred Otnes, Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg, Nick Bantock and others.”

Current/Future Work
Mr. Allowatt plans on continuing his mixed media and collage art in the present and near future.  In his spare time, he enjoys traveling to new places and discovering local art and artifacts and also playing guitar.  Mr. Allowatt has high hopes for the future and is striving to create the best art he possibly can.  He truly is a talented man.

Allowatt has exhibited his art all over the Charleston area, and his work is currently part of the West Virginia Art and Craft Guild Juried Exhibition which has been traveling around the state.  Allowatt has exhibited at Taylor Books Gallery in downtown Charleston several times, the Huntington Galleries and recently won the top award in the National Collage Society Annual Juried Show which was held in Longmont, Colorado in November 2008.