Coug turned consignment artist David Hoyt, an illustrator and graphic designer based in Pullman, is exhibiting digital art at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown through July 30.

Hoyt’s exhibition at the Barn consists of both old and new art based heavily on parts of the Pullman area, such as the Bryan Clock Tower, “Charlie Brown” water tower and Leonard Round Barn, said Julie Hartwig, Barn curator and manager.

Hoyt said he believes in the inherent beauty of animals and insects and bases his work around them. His art features nature in the form of flora, insects and other wildlife on the Palouse, as well as railroads. He also paints creatures that are endangered, such as bees and the monarch butterfly.

“This is the biggest display by far where I’ve gotten to see all my work,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt majored in fine arts at WSU, graduating in 1985. He has over 13 years of experience as a manager, print communications senior graphic designer and art director for the WSU Foundation.

Now, Hoyt is retired and has signed on as a consignment artist for Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, Hartwig said. A consignment artist at the Barn is an artist who can sell their art through the Barn’s gift shop.

Hoyt said his connection with nature stems from a long relationship with the outdoors and spending time with his parents, who pushed him to be around nature.

“My dad being an entomologist, he knew the taxonomy of plants and animals. He knew the Latin names of everything. My mother, even though she was a music teacher and that was not her specialty, … You’d go on a drive and they would know the names of all the plants,” he said.

Hoyt’s journey with digital art began after he graduated from WSU in 1985. Hoyt said he gained experience from working with the newspaper systems at the WSU Press and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and this showed him where technology was headed.

“We got these computers and all of a sudden I realized that one person can do the writing, the design, the layout, not the printing probably … but one person can have all this control,” he said.

Hoyt designs and creates his work through software like Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. He said he believes art is all about the process rather than the result.

“The best day I’ve ever had is a day where you work for eight or 10 hours and the day’s gone and you’re like, embedded into this work,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt also runs a freelance graphic design business, Red Anvil Design Works. His art will still be for sale at the Barn’s gift shop after the exhibition ends.

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn is open from Thursday–Sunday from 10 a.m.–6 p.m.