Ah, My Art, copyright 2012 24″X36″ Acrylic on board.
BUCK DODDS = ODDS BUCKED
The above painting represents the end of SD Powell’s “Colorblind Period.” The pivot to Buck Dodds as a persona and artist’s moniker came after formal art training informed his beliefs about colorblind artists, paintings with signatures, and the ability to make the subject of a painting look like something or someone. Truth told, there’s too many Steve Powells in the interworld, and thousands who can paint a great portrait, but there’s only one Buck Dodds. The name implies “the odds done been bucked.”
Welcome to buckdodds.com
Buck Dodds is the pseudonym of SD Powell. This website is a repository in progress of his life work. He’s a Montana polymath artist. Buck’s career spans invention and innovation, fine art, film and stage, and literary fiction. Since completing his BFA at Montana State University in 2013, he’s focused his creative energies on novels, flash fiction (less than 1000 word complete stories), and is branching into short stories.
Buck publishes his flash award winners here on the ORBS page along with other writers who write gritty, adult (R, not X) fiction. He’s written three novels total that have socially relevant undertones:
Voluted: Autistic Joseph presents an honest explanation of his training, his betrothel to a precocious Mary, and how Jesus came to be the Christ. It is Buck’s first novel and it addresses the physiology, and sociology of a singularity event in Jewish history; the virgin birth. (Ready for query.)
MANILA DINGO: Frank wants Alonzo for murder, Alonzo wants Frank’s money, and Angelica wants to hold the family together through a torrent of bias. This is a story of immigrant family dynamics, inherent bias, economic disparity among the wealthy, and it’s driven by a very clever fictitious invention, the “D157.” (Currently in query phase)
MAESTRO RAVEN: Frank and Sophia set out on a treasure hunt that quickly escalates into solving the crime of the century. It is an encapsulation of the Montana experience that is decidedly not “Cowboy Chic,” with powerful social implications. (Book two of the Dingo series, in progress.)
ORBS:
Anyone who likes good short fiction that has no politically correct niceness filters would enjoy Buck’s curated collection of short stories and flash fiction. So far he’s been a co-winner in the Writer’s Advice flash fiction contest (ca. 2023) and garnered top 10% and 20% mentions from the Oxford University Press Flash Fiction Masters competition.
With more odds bucked, he’s striving for more wins as he emerges. For updates, subscribe. “I promise you will only be sent notifications of new fun stuff to read, or publications of my work.” -Buck
Executive Summary:
Buck Dodds is a Myers-Briggs INFP with high language comprehension skills who is an expert in high-concept linguistic thinking with an exceptional aesthetic and a drive to uplift mankind through elegant design.
Having spent the vast majority of his lilfe in Montana, where he was born, he informs his voice with “simple speak” and enriches his deep POV literary style with a trove of lived experiences. His novels showcase quirky innovations, and layered, diverse characters.
He loves the challenge of feel-good stories with grungy, gonzo grit that elevate characters and inspire readers.
His artist’s statement permeates his work:
“All art should be accessible to all levels of sophistication by design.”