Artist Statement
As an interdisciplinary artist and instructional designer, my work is in a constant state of flux. My artwork focuses primarily on the creation of frozen moments in time through the mixing and clashing of various techniques which I like to call “Poporiginal Expressionism”. When someone is viewing my work, I want them to inspect the figure or canvas not only for the content in the foreground, but for what lies beneath. The content of my current work explores pop culture references while embracing aspects of aboriginal art, abstract expressionism and color theory. The combining of these styles instills a sense of wonderment in the viewer at first glance, and then a realization of differing emotions once it is inspected further. While creating my work, I use a diverse range of painting and printmaking techniques while utilizing digital imagery, graphic design, and photography in my planning process.
Lately, I have been creating satirical, bootleg toys and exploring the world of superheroes while combining their imagery with abstract and aboriginal elements. As a child I was always nose deep reading books, graphic novels and observing comics. Not only were the visuals appealing, but the stories continually showed an indirect relation to the struggles of everyday people. While most heroes are continually trying to save the world, they are still dealing with the everyday problems we deal with such as relationships and even death. The struggle of everyday life in comics is a pretty unique underlying theme. The artworks I create, relate to various emotions that we feel throughout our lives. I prefer to name my paintings after characters or events and leave the underlying emotions up to the viewers’ interpretation.
Biography
I was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania and have received Bachelors of Landscape Architecture from West Virginia University in 2008, an Associate of Fine Arts from Westmoreland County Community College in 2011 and a second bachelors in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2020. Currently, I am continuing my education for a Masters in Instructional Design and Educational Technology at American College of Education. I create new artworks under the Mr. Dan Productions moniker along with being the founder and chief curator of the Headkeeper Artist Initiative in Greensburg, PA. I am also heavily involved in creating charitable events in the Southwest Pennsylvania area and currently teach agriculture and landscape design as an instructor at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.
CV/Resume