Over
the last decade, W. F. (Bill) Daniel has transformed his career from electrical
engineering to landscape painting. He began painting, first in pastels and then
in oils, in the early 1990's as a way to relieve the stress of the meticulous
work required to design voice and data switching systems for the telecommunications
industry. Over the years, a fascination with artistic pursuits began to overshadow
his engineering work. In 2003 he made the decision to devote his full energy to
his passion for painting landscapes in beautiful Colorado and elsewhere.
His
introduction to the natural world began as a toddler, when he slept in an orange
crate on family car-camping trips in the Sierras. Later he continued his outdoor
adventures as a whitewater canoeist and kayaker, rock climber, and backpacker.
Plein
air painting and studio work are both exciting and fulfilling for him. He says,
"I find that my work in the field and in the studio complement each other.
The difficulties of plein air painting - rapidly changing light, the challenges
of weather, and the inconvenience of carrying a studio on my back - force me to
paint loosely and rapidly while staying true to the feeling of the moment. When
I return to my studio, the challenge becomes one of maintaining that immediacy
and freshness, while developing a small color sketch into a larger work. In the
comfort of my studio and without the time pressure of changing light, I can experiment
with other materials and techniques. Those studio adventures, in turn, inform
my field work."
He has studied with locally and nationally known artists
including Scott Christensen, Doug Dawson, Kevin Weckbach, John Budicin, and Molly
Davis. His inspiration is drawn from the work of living artists including Scott
Christensen and Matt Smith, as well as masters of the past such as Nicholai Fechin,
Anders Zorn, Carl Rungius, and Edgar Payne. |
