Ripon College Days

Dave Billings [Click to enlarge]

A red and black college-issued sweat suit is crumpled on the floor. A guitar rests in one corner and a collection of well-worn records is stacked in another, while a Blumen drum set dominates most of the floor space.

Legs crossed and arms draped on the chair's wooden rests, Dave Billings leans back in his red plaid recliner and says thoughtfully, "It's just a part of who I am, I guess-I paint."

Billings spent his self-described normal childhood in the Chicago suburb of Mt. Prospect playing team sports, guns and camouflage, running with his dad and older brother, Dan, eating family dinners and above all else, drawing.

"I sort of got the idea when I was little that I was going to be into art," he says, adjusting his dark-rimmed glasses. "I knew that somehow when I grew up I was going to make a career out of it."

Influenced by his dad's casual painting and a hip older cousin in art school, Billings continued to draw and soon made the natural progression to painting.

These days, Billings finds himself inspired by elements of the natural world.

Summer Sundays stand out in his mind most recently. On these days he would take his camera for a drive until something unique caught his eye. Billings later turned those photos into his own unique narrative of the world.

"Right now I'm really into these landscapes, usually with some sort of man's handprint in them," he shares. "I always look for something that makes it a little bit different, a little odder than your normal landscape."

While nature is his subject matter of choice, Billings cites exchanges with friends as key elements of his development as an artist.

"I just see what happens in conversations," he laughs. "Just talking about ideas-that's as fresh as any art that's being made, at least it's fresh for me."

Looking around Billings' room, it's clear that painting is not his only passion.

"I do listen to a lot of music and it means a lot to me," Billings says, looking at his stack of vinyl records. "I dabble with the guitar and I have a drum set, but I've never taken a lesson. I'm teaching myself and I learn from friends and I'm picking up things that I probably wouldn't have if people had taught me to play."

In addition to painter and amateur musician, add runner to the list of Billings' personas.

While Billings' humility may prove deceiving in casual conversation, he is one of the finest runners Ripon has ever seen. A national qualifier on the cross-country course, Billings has set school records in the men's 8K and in several track events.

This season Billings aims to run consistently strong, hopefully resulting in a conference victory, a trip to nationals and the title of All-American.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself but I try to stay relaxed," Billings says. "It's a part of me now... I'd like to be able to keep running, to just keep running forever."

But for now, forever is a long way off and Billings is taking life one day at a time; soaking it all in astride the saddle of one of his favorite possessions-an old orange Schwinn Varsity.

Article Tools