Elwood Decker

Elwood Decker (1903–1992) was an American painter.

Biography Elwood Decker was born in Fresno, California on 8 April 1903. In 1931, after Decker had done a tour of duty with the U.S. Army, he had come to live as an artist in the dunes of Oceano. He had found a group of artists which he joined. The artists included writers, poets, and free-thinkers, who called themselves Dunites. In 1935, Decker decided to leave the dunes to become an artist for the Civilian Conservation Corps. By the end of 1935, Decker ended up living back in the dunes as the mysterious artist once again. In June 1946, Elwood married Ann Carpenter, who he met in the dunes, and they moved to Hollywood, California. In 1965, Elwood and Ann moved from West Hollywood to Thousand Oaks, California.

Education Elwood Decker attended high school in Oakland, California and later the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. In 1952, Decker enrolled at Santa Monica City College to study photography. Decker's interests extended to filmmaking, writing, and music. He spent much of his life in San Luis Obispo. He worked in paint, ink, and pottery, and his style ranged over many schools of modern art: abstract, expressionist and impressionist, among others. He was the subject of a biographical song by The Bobs.