April 1, 2019
Mark Daniels is the featured artist at Heartland Artists Gallery and his work will perk up the Gallery walls and the community this April. Heartland is proud to have him at the Gallery with his first solo show displaying through April 26. The community is invited to the reception on Sunday, April 7 from 1-4. Amazing art like you have never seen before!
The Gallery’s mission is to support area artists, and to bring and to teach the arts to the community. Their not-for-profit Gallery gives area artists a venue to show and sell their art. Their art classes fulfill their mission for educating and they also assist in their financial means to maintain the Gallery. Visit www.heartlandartgallery.com, Facebook, Instagram or call 574.936.9515 for more information. The Gallery is located in downtown Plymouth. Gallery hours are Tues. – Sat. 10-4.
Statement Provided by Artist
Mark was born and raised in rural Elida, Ohio and developed a love of creative drawing and art making at a young age. The young artist loved being outside in the woods or digging in the dirt growing up. He was equally happy inside, busily creating his own fictitious characters, sketching portraits of people, and experimenting with different drawing mediums all through his formative years. It wasn’t until Mark attended Goshen College as an art major that he received any sort of formal training. He met his wife, Krista, at Goshen and married after graduation.
Mark pursued art-making after college, completing commissions, getting gigs as a caricaturist, leading art workshops, and attending small art fairs. He developed his skill as a caricature artist on his own and still craved to paint on canvas. During this time of new growth and exploration, Mark joined and still participates in a great support group of artists called the Dandelion Seed Company that helped him sort through the challenges of developing his trade and living the artist life.
Mark’s art career took a back seat for a time when Krista and Mark bought a house and started a family. Mark got a job teaching art at Bethany Christian Schools, where he learned that he was not cut out for classroom teaching. After 3 years of teaching, Mark made the decision to become a full-time artist, and that turned a corner in his art career. He completed a series of small, mixed media flower paintings that he really enjoyed and was pleased when this unique way of depicting flowers gained positive attention from his growing fan base. After the sale of those watercolor paintings, subsequent greeting cards, and running more art workshops, he found that he needed a space to do the messy work of creating. He found a fantastic studio space in The Irwin Art Center in Goshen.
Mark credits Krista’s work as an Interpretive Naturalist as his inspiration to paint what he does. Krista teaches about the native flora and fauna of the Midwest. It is important to her that people understand and care for the natural world around them. This passion has also influenced Mark to celebrate the native, important, and beautiful creation around us through his “Dancing Birds” and “Fluttering Fleurs”.
Mark loves creating vibrant paintings using his skill as a caricature artist to distill an identifiable subject into exaggerated angular color shapes and lines, leaving a recognizable but impressionistic depiction of said subject. Mark loves sharing his passion for color and how it engages viewers with others. His paintings always have a sense of rhythm, and fun, disarming compositional elements that make the painting seem to come alive. Mark has artwork in numerous private art collections throughout the U.S. and his painting, “Sandhill Dance” won first place in a juried show at the Heartland Artist Gallery in 2017. Mark also creates special request works of art for anyone who would like him to!
Photo Caption: Blue bird dancing … created and painted by Mark Daniels, the featured artist at Heartland Artists Gallery from March 26- April 30.
Photo Caption: Grosbeak on the move … such color, movement and personality are created by Mark Daniels, featured artist in the month of April.
Reception to meet Mark is Sunday, April 7th at the Gallery from 1-4!