About David
David Frederick Heatwole
Artist · Arts Advocate · Creative Entrepreneur
Changing the Way Art Works
David Frederick Heatwole is an 11th-generation American artist, curator, publisher, and creative entrepreneur whose lifelong mission is to inspire creativity, encourage collaboration, and expand opportunities for artists.
Throughout his career, David has explored the power of art to bring people together. He founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to creative community collaborations, developing projects with schools and communities throughout Virginia and Maryland. His efforts received recognition through public proclamations from numerous municipalities and Loudoun County, Virginia.
David and his wife also devoted years to foster parenting and adoption, raising five adopted children. In 2009, they received West Virginia's Angels in Adoption recognition for their commitment to children and families.
For 17 years, West Virginia was home to the Heatwole family. Today, David resides in Berea, Ohio, with his wife and three of their children, maintaining strong personal and family ties to the Mountain State.
His artistic ambitions have always extended beyond the studio. He envisioned ARTNET, a cross-country traveling museum built around specially designed tractor-trailers, featuring his international art collection and a nationwide youth Creativity Challenge. The exhibition would include Yuriy Karabash's Ultimate Creation, a painting David considers a potential Mona Lisa of 21st-century America.
In an unusual turn of events, David became a commercial truck driver partly to understand the vehicles that could make his traveling museum possible. While earning his living on the road, he continued developing his artistic practice, including his award-winning In-Sana Tea series.
Today, with artificial intelligence helping turn ambitious ideas into practical initiatives, David is developing WestVirginiaArts.com, a statewide arts discovery and cultural tourism platform connecting artists, musicians, cultural organizations, businesses, and visitors throughout West Virginia’s 55 counties.
His planned West Virginia Arts Discovery Tour will take him into communities across the state to discover creative talent, build relationships, and promote cultural tourism. Through another initiative, Edition Unlocked, he hopes to empower art enthusiasts to become advocates and marketers who help artists reach new audiences while sharing in the rewards of successful sales.
Embracing the self-proclaimed title of America's First U.S. Arts Ambassador, David envisions a national and eventually international movement to elevate the arts, strengthen creative communities, and help artists achieve greater recognition and financial opportunity.
Although he continues working as a local truck driver, his ultimate ambition is to devote himself full-time to creating art and advancing the arts.