Dan Harris

Using acrylic paints can be a challenge.
They lack the rich color, easy blending
and finished lustre of oil paint. At worst,
the completed painting never gets
beyond its material source, and looks
disturbingly like a cheap plastic straw.
On the plus side, impatient artist that I
am, things can be quickly changed on
the canvas, and there are some useful
tricks using the acrylic medium that
aren't possible with oil. But, best of all, I manage to keep my brushes
clean.

I live in downtown Yellville, Arkansas, in an old hotel that is unique for
it's iron siding - something of a novelty I'm told for this part of the
country. Moved here a few years ago, may well move away a few
years from now.

Conceptually, the work traces back to my graduate years in Chicago,
when Salle, Fischl, and Schnabel were the "in" artists running amock
in New York. From Schnabel comes the inspiration for some of the
abstracted, heavily painted surfaces in the backdrops; from Fischl, a
touch of the lurid sexuality that is not so deliberately apparent in my
work; and from Salle, the notion of human figures combined with the
off hand objects. Back then, I didn't like their work, individually or
collectively, and went in a different direction.

Years ago, I stepped off a curb in London and was almost hit by a
Bentley carrying the singers Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. If they had
nicked me, I might have made headlines. So I've already missed one
shot at fame.

To check out some of Dan's work, visit our gift shop by clicking here!