Darren Young earned an undergraduate degree in painting from East Carolina University in 1995, and in 1996 he was part of a residency at the Vermont Studio Center with Wolf Kahn and Janet Fish. In 1999 he received a M.F.A. in painting from Indiana University.

Growing up in a country, the artist has always been attracted to rural landscapes. He created a series of landscape paintings based on the forest fires that affected the region while teaching at the University of Colorado. Today, Young teaches at Wingate University in the Charlotte area. His landscape paintings have become more imaginative and painterly, focusing on textural qualities and the intent of expressing the beauty of his immediate surroundings.

“In my work, the process or act of creating should have at its core a contemplative, spiritual understanding of the landscape.”

The artist evokes a sense of light and space with strong, simple compositions, intense colours, and stark contrasts. Young aims to create a powerful sense of atmosphere on the canvas using different brush strokes. Including both figurative imagery and abstract elements, his creative process is unpredictable, even for the artist himself.