Don Bristow
Fractal Artist
Don Bristow is a photographer and fractal (mathematical) artist living in Bullard, Texas, with his wife Sandy and dog Bentley.
According to Bristow, Mathematics is a rich source of beautiful images. Bristow pours over solutions to equations, and there he finds virtual landscapes, seascapes, stars, galaxies and things never before seen.
Because it can stimulate minds and trigger new ideas, Bristow believes that his body of fractal art is an excellent choice for commercial interiors, especially lobbies and conference rooms. But Bristow’s work also hangs in private homes. Exhibits have demonstrated that it appeals to young and old, and to artists as well as engineers.
Don Bristow
FRACTAL ARTIST
Continued
While fractal art is still considered an experimental art form, Bristow maintains a great deal of discipline in his work, and he hopes to help lead the art form out of its infancy and into wider acceptance. One of qualities he’s been working towards is making fractal art more human so as to elicit emotional responses in addition to analytical ones.
Inspired by the book The Fractal Geometry of Nature by Benoit Mandelbrot, Bristow’s exploration of mathematics for art began in 1982. Bristow’s earliest experimental prints were produced on 4″ wide thermal paper strips, and later on 24″ rolls of inkjet paper. But today he outsources his images to companies that specialize in high-end dye-sublimination printing on the best materials available.
Unlike the myriad of fractal images that can be found with a Google search, Bristow creates his images with painstaking care to achieve results that are meaningful and should stand the test of time.
Bristow was sponsor of the Art Connection of East Texas radio program from its launch in 2016 until 2024, and he has been a fill-in co-host and frequent guest of the program. His work has been featured on the covers of While-U-Wait Magazine in Tyler, Texas, Commercial Real Estate Network Magazine in Atlanta, Georgia, and Commercial Real Estate Network Magazine in Dallas, Texas. And his photography and fractal work has been used for book covers including Don’t Cry Daddy’s Here by Brinda Carey and Holy Chaos by Dr. Mark Edge.
Bristow currently serves as the IT Director for Bethesda Health Clinic and Hangers of Hope thrift stores, a position he has held for over a decade.
Don Bristow
FRACTAL ARTIST
Gallery
Dreaming
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 30×30
La Palma
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 40×40
Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 30×30
The Whirl Pool
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 40×40
Time Travel
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 30×30
Voices
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 40×40
Working-Late
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 40×40
Carwash
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 40×40
River of Life
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 80×40 on 2 panels
Coral Reef
Dye-Sub on Aluminum 90×30 on 3 panels
Don Bristow
FRACTAL ARTIST
Exhibitions
Current Exhibitions
2024-25 Juried Group Exhibition – Art and Healing, Palestine Regional Medical Center, Patlestine, TX
2024-25 Juried Group Exhibition – pARTnership VII, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX
2024 Juried Group Exhibition – Edom Art House, Edom, Texas
Solo Exhibitions
2019 A Brush with Mathematics, The Foundry, Tyler, TX
2017 Arts N Beats with SYNC MG, Dallas, TX
2016 CHAOTICA – A Fractal Vision of the Universe, M6 Winery, Bullard, TX
2013 Chaotica, ASID Industry Partner Exhibit, Metrocon13 Expo & Conference, Dallas, TX
2011 Chaotica, The Art of Coffee, Lindale, TX
2010 Chaotica, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Garland, TX
2009 Chaotica, Caffe Tazza, Tyler, TX
2008 Photographic Works, Caffe Tazza, Tyler, TX
2006 Solo/Group Exhibition – Work of Love: Artists’ Portraits, Artisan Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2006 At Peace During a Time of War, Centerline Gallery, Woodland, CA
2004 Xscapes, Doiron Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2003 Hornscapes, California State University Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
Two Person Exhibitions
2014 Art for Mobility, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Wheeling, WV (with painter Francillon Chery)
2002 Untitled, Gallery W, Rancho Cordova, CA (with sculptor/painter Claudia Alvarez)
2001 Friends Under the Sky, Pegase Restaurant and Art Bar, Sacramento, CA (with painter Ruth Greenup)
2001 Friends Under the Sky ~ 2001, Doiron Gallery, Sacramento, CA (with painter Ruth Greenup)
2000 Photo-Electronic Impressions 2, Flower Concepts, Sacramento, CA
2000 Photo-Electronic Impressions, Flower Concepts, Sacramento, CA
Group Exhibitions
2023-24 Juried Group Exhibition – UT Tyler Muntz Library, Tyler, TX
2023-24 Juried Group Exhibition – pARTnership VI, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX
2023-24 Juried Group Exhibition – The Beauty of Art & Medicine VI, TJC Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building, Tyler, TX
2022-23 Juried Group Exhibition – pARTnership V, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX
2022 Juried Group Exhibition – The Beauty of Art & Medicine V, TJC Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building, Tyler, TX
2022 Juried Group Exhibition – The 2022 Art of Chocolate benefitting Champions for Children, Tyler, TX
2020 Juried Group Exhibition – pARTnership IV, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX
2020 Juried Group Exhibition – The Beauty of Art & Medicine IV, TJC Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building, Tyler, TX
2019 Juried Group Exhibition – PARTnership III, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX; People’s Choice Award – First Place
2019 Juried Group Exhibition – The Beauty of Art & Medicine III, TJC Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building, Tyler, TX
2018 Juried Group Exhibition – Valerosa Men’s Art Show, The Foundry Coffee House, Tyler, TX
2018 Juried Group Exhibition – The Wonder of Art and Science, Home of Lisa & Michael Lujan, Tyler, TX
2018 Juried Group Exhibition – The Beauty of Art & Medicine II, TJC Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building, Tyler, TX
2018 Juried Group Exhibition – pARTnership II, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX
2017 Juried Group Exhibition – The Beauty of Art & Medicine, TJC Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building, Tyler, TX
2017 Juried Group Exhibition – PARTnership, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, Tyler, TX
2016 Group Exhibition – All Men’s Art Show – Valerosa Gallery, Tyler, TX
2016 Group Exhibition – A Focus of Bullard Artists – Portraits and Representative Works, M6 Winery, Bullard, TX
2016 Juried International Group Exhibition – Arcadia Art Show, Arcadia Theater, Tyler, TX
2013 Juried Group Exhibition – Irresistible, Southwest Texas Arts Festival, DeSoto, TX (Excellence Award winner)
2011 Group Exhibition – Untitled, Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, TX
2010 Group Exhibition – WIDESPECTRUM, Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, TX
2010 Group Exhibition – Art & Adversity, Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, TX
2010 Group Exhibition – Art Lifts Handicapped People, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX
2010 Group Exhibition – The Uncommon Image: an Exhibition of the Abstract and the Non-Objective, Gallery Main Street, Tyler, TX
2009 Group Exhibition – Untitled, The Global Art Initiative Gallery, Cottonwood Shores, TX
2009 Group Exhibition – Chaos and Order, Mary Tomas Studio Gallery, Dallas, TX
2009 Group Exhibition – Chaotica, featured artist, eTX Natural Wellness Expo, Tyler, TX
2005 Group Exhibition – Familiarity Framed, Artisan Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2005 Group Exhibition – Bull Fights & Brush Strokes, Artisan Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2005 Group Exhibition – 2005 Members Exhibition, Viewpoint Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2004 Group Exhibition – Sierra Scapes, window exhibit, Artisan Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2004 Group Exhibition – 2004 Members Exhibition, Viewpoint Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2004 Group Exhibition – Grand Opening Exhibition , Taylor’s Nouveau Fine Art Gallery, Elk Grove, CA
2003 Group Exhibition – Untitled, East Sac Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2001 Group Exhibition – In Living Color, Gallery W, Rancho Cordova, CA