David Gordon

Best Urban 2025
Power Pole Ranch
by David Gordon

There is a quiet power in overlooked places — in a leaning power pole standing sentinel over flat farmland, in a dirt road disappearing toward the horizon. For David Gordon, these are not incidental details. They are the language of painting.

A landscape painter recently relocated from Bakersfield to Ventura, Gordon has spent his career translating the 

soul of the San Joaquin Valley onto canvas. His award-winning piece Power Pole captures a coastal scene that pulses with the memory of agricultural home.

Punctuation Marks in the Landscape

Gordon paints landscapes, but never empty ones. Barns, power poles, dirt roads, planted palms — he calls these “punctuation marks,” visual cues that anchor you in place and give his compositions their sense of depth. Power lines hold a particular fascination. Growing up on the flat Central Valley, they were a rural compass telling him how far something was. When he found the subject of Power Pole near the Pacific, the scene carried the unmistakable feeling of home despite the new geography.

There are rarely people in his paintings, and this is intentional. “I want my work to feel alone but not lonely,” he says. “I feel my work exudes the necessary confidence of being alone.”

A Brighter Palette, A Healing Journey

Gordon’s recent work has undergone a visible transformation. Bright, unexpected color now sparks through his underpainting, and his palette has grown crisper and more luminous — a reflection of personal renewal. Drawn to the desert light of Palm Springs and the Salton Sea, he has found both community and healing there, and his canvases show it.

On the Art Life

“Painting is such a solitary activity. It’s not a team sport.” Gordon speaks warmly of being invited into this year’s show by Dwight and Laura Dryer, whose belief in his work has spurred real growth. For emerging artists, his advice is simple: paint constantly, seek out artists who challenge you, stay humble and open. “Be in love with the working aspect of artistry.”

At the heart of it all is an unshakeable compulsion. “All I know is that I have to paint scenes that are usually overlooked but no less interesting. I paint places where I feel whole.”

Follow David’s work on Instagram: @davidgordon_designs