I was born in Marietta, Georgia, and spent my childhood in Fort Worth, Texas. After graduating from high school, I attended Arlington State College for several years studying painting and commercial art. I transferred to North Texas State College, as it was known at that time, and continued studies in painting and printmaking. After three years active duty in the United States Army with a one year deployment to Vietnam, I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Painting in December of 1970
In 1971, I was one of eleven artists chosen from around the world to enter the Graduate Printmaking Program at the San Francisco Art Institute where I earned my Masters of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking in 1973.
Returning to the Fort Worth/Dallas area in 1974, I attended U.N.T. to receive my Texas State Teacher Certification for Secondary Art and English. In 1975, I began my careers in the graphic arts with positions from “bull pen” production artist up to president of an advertising agency; then, in Education with positions from university advertising design instructor to Director of Exhibits at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History; additionally, in the Fine Arts by participating in national fine art competitions and invitational exhibitions. While living and working in Dallas as a freelance artist, I was proud to serve as Vice-President of The Dallas Society of Illustrators during 1985-1986 when I designed their logo, which won a Graphex award in the “Graphex 18 Competition” by The Art Directors Club of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I retired from the advertising industry in 1995 and spent the next decade as an Executive Security Specialist and studied Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism of which I am an adherent.
Currently, I live in Austin, Texas, where I’m working in my studio reconnecting with my Fine Art creative roots of Abstract Expressionism and actively producing my most mature paintings to date.
My website, dereketaulmanartist.com, is a work-in-progress as I continue to add new paintings. Also, visit my Instagram Gallery @dereketaulmanartist to see posts of works-in-progress and other interesting posts about me and my artworks.
Education
MFA: Printmaking, Honors Graduate, San Francisco Art Institute
BA: Drawing/Painting/English Literature, University of North Texas
Advertising/Commercial Art/Painting, University of Texas at Arlington
Teacher Certification, Texas Provisional-Life, Secondary Art & English, U. N. T.
Exhibits Design Internship, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, 1974
Drawing/Painting, Ft. Worth Art Museum School, Instructor: Paul Zelanski, 1962