Don Almquist's accomplishments as a painter and graphic artist are many and varied. Not only is his work represented in private collections here and abroad, he has exhibited in seven one man shows and sixteen juried shows in the US, Canada and Sweden while garnering a number of awards.
In 1993, a one-man show of his paintings in Askersund, Sweden, was part of that city's 350th year jubilee. The title of the exhibit, "How a Swedish-American Interprets Modern Day Sweden," reflects the motifs conceived during his annual vacation in that country.
Don's graphic art has been equally well received. His work has appeared in national and international publications and in more than two dozen adult and children's books.
Earlier in his career, he served as an art and creative director for Ahlen & Akerlund in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the largest and influential publishing houses in Europe, and also as graphics advisor to the US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, DC.
He is listed in WHO'S WHO IN GRAPHIC ART, Zurich Switzerland, WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA (2002), 2000 OUTSTANDING ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS OF THE 20th CENTURY, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England and is included in WHO'S WHO in the 21st Century-First Edition, IBC Cambridge, England.
Born in the US of Swedish ancestry, Don lives in historic New Castle, Delaware with his wife Kerstin, who was born and raised in Sweden. From their home directly on the Delaware River, they share their view with a never ending variety of wildlife and the occasional cruise ship that slides silently past the studio window.
"Color is my life - a personal passion that fires my imagination and invigorates my very existence. I'm having fun! Painting moves me in a manner analogous to music. Its rhythms, spontaneity and emotion are all orchestrated by the artist/composer. The subtlety of tonalities are precisely a tone poem on canvas, be it the brevity of haiku or the panoramic classical epic." - Don Almquist, March 2002
