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Spraygraphic Interview with Artist danyol
By Spraygraphic | February 25, 2008
Spraygraphic Interview with danyol
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
d: My name is danyol and I like to make art. I am also in a couple of bands. I used to be a modern dancer (about 30 lbs. ago) and now I primarily paint and play music.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
d: I live and do all of my art in San Francisco, CA. My partner and I moved here 4 years ago from Orange County, CA.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
d: I work in all mediums. Currently my work is made up of layers of decoupage and paint. Most of the stuff I use as decoupage I find in and around my life. I want to keep the work current and very autobiographical so when looking at one of my pieces, the viewer can figure out where I am living, where I have traveled recently and what trash I have found on whatever streets I have been walking down.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
d: I start out with nothing in my head. The blank canvas and whatever pieces of crap I can find to place in the background. The decoupage is done first. Next is the paint. I add layers of paint on top of the items already glued down. This whole process is done with minimal preconceived thought as I can muster. If I start to think about it too much then I stop and regroup. The stream of consciousness and random accidents are very important to me. Then its time to reign in some of that chaos. I create an image that I want to use and paint it over the top of the background. Then I mask out the background and I’m done. The literal imagery and concise, very deliberate black lines help control the mess I have made. When I show my work, I always put a detailed description of the piece and where it came from. I also list the trash I used in the background.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
d: Thankfully this rarely happens. I think that because I’m not really afraid to try something new or to ruin a painting by going in a completely different direction saves me from these blockages. So far my well has not gone dry.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
d: I’m a pop culture and open book kinda guy. I find inspiration all around me in mundane and popular every day things. Its part pop culture, part diary that I put on my canvases. And a nice healthy dose of sarcasm never hurt anyone!
SG: Can you tell us a little about your sticker, “I Love Danyol” How did that come about?
d: I was seeing all of these bumper stickers on the back of cars that boasted about how much they loved their Doberman or German Sheppard or their labradoodle and I thought, why not make a sticker that says ‘i love danyol’? no one knows who i am and I can use that as a marketing tool. And there will be a little bit of sarcasm involved, too! I also make buttons that say the same thing and I make everyone wear them at my shows! It’s all just ego food, isn’t it?
SG: Can you tell us a little about how your work has changed/evolved since the 90s to now.
d: The biggest change has been the discovery of decoupage and using other things to paint with besides paint. This has added so much texture and vulnerability to my work that I was really lacking early on in my career. My work in the 90’s was very linear and 2 dimensional. Once I quit dancing for a living, I missed that vulnerability that I was experiencing on stage. That fear drives me as an artist. So I made this conscience effort to put more of myself into each piece, no matter how revealing or telling. This gave me the vulnerability that I was lacking and has evolved into what I am working on now.
SG: According to your website, all of your shows have been in California. Have you ever shown outside California? If so, why not?
d: I have not shown outside of california because no one will have me! I really want to show outside of my home base, and I am trying, but so far, no bites. Got any connections? My dream is to have a show in Berlin or London or Tokyo. Those are my dream markets!
SG: Where has your work been seen?
d; I tend to sell a lot of pieces at each show that I do and a good percentage of those people are foreigners so I suppose my art has been seen around the globe! But really its only been seen in LA and San Francisco…but hopefully that will all change!
SG: Where will it be seen next?
d: I currently have 3 shows up in San Francisco (The Salon, Artist Xchange Gallery, and ArtworkSF Gallery), 1 show in Oakland (Nest Gallery), and I am really excited to be part of a group show at the Hive Gallery in downtown LA in February.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
d: To paint a mural on the Berlin wall like my idol, Keith Haring!
SG: What is your favorite color?
d: Orange and fuchsia next to each other.
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
d: I have 2. Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. Basquiat for the chaos that he allowed to happen on the canvas as well as the input of his own personal life and struggle in to each piece of art and Keith Haring for the fun and social awareness that he put in to his work. Keith had this ability to make people smile and think at the same time and I want to do that with my work as well.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
d: I read Entertainment Weekly and National Geographic magazine religiously. I also read Time and Bon Appetit. I’m still trying to get through the last harry potter so don’t tell me who dies or I will kill you!
SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?
d: I have done one self portrait. It was called ‘im here but im not all there’. I painted over it sometime ago. I do that a lot. If I can’t afford to buy a new canvas and I need to get something out, I paint over something I’ve already done.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
d: I like to hang out at home with my man and my dog. I also like to hang out at the Eagle in San Francisco. They have a great beer bust on Sundays!
SG: Any final words of advice?
da: Keep on truckin!
ART:
1) life aint nothing but bitches and money, mixed media 72″ x 84″
This title is taken from an N.W.A. song called gangsta gangsta. The background is made up of $50’s and $20’s.
2) mon cousin belge, mixed media 36″ x 36″
If i had to describe mon cousin belge’s music, we would be here for hours. They mix Edith Piaf with Freddy Mercury and television/talking heads and out comes the most amazing art you will ever see/here. The background is made up of fake money, pee chee folders, dress making patterns and adverts for shoes from the late 1800’s.
3) she creates her own reality, mixed media 36″ x 36″
Another way of saying this title is, “if you say the same lie long enough, it’s bound to come true.” Some people get it, some don’t. she doesn’t get it just yet. She will as she gets older. The background is made up of Chinese calendar pages, maps of a london gallery, Chinese bible pages, orders from my friend’s restaurant and a Kandinsky painting.
4) she knows why we would all love to fly, mixed media 48″ x 36″
What child hasn’t dreamed of being able to fly. We would all love to. She can. The background is made up of the children’s book the day teddy got very worried, pages from a Chinese bible and newspaper.
5) the pattern of redundancy pattern, mixed media 36″ x 36″
The background is made up of vintage vogue patterns. When making the wings, I was creating these endless patterns of bricks on top of vogue patterns. It felt a bit redundant.
6) ciao bella, mixed media 40″ x 60″
Bill and I almost moved to Italy in 2004. On our trip over there to look for a place to live, we met these lovely Italian women who dressed to the nines and always said, “ciao bella.” when they parted. The background is made up of a map bill and I used to look for a house, stamps, vintage vogue patterns and a map of south orange county, where we used to live.
Additional links:
Video of me painting a piece start to finish:
Topics: Artist Interviews, Paintings, San Francisco Art Scene |
February 25th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
i <3 danyol.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
fabulous piece. keep up the good work!
February 25th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I have known Danyol for quite sometime now,I am please to gain more insite of his motivation for his art.I hope in the fututre he can say ” I am a berliner”
we all hope that in things we love to do can reward us in life because its that it? Being a success at what you love to do?I hope his dreams come true!
February 25th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Freaking amazing work! Best always, Andre
February 25th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Freanking amazing work, good luck
Best wishes always, Andre
February 27th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Danyol is F***IN’ gifted at what he does and puts it to great use! Can’t wait to own one of your huge pieces! I love you!