David R. Daniels: Beyond Limits

In large format works that push the boundaries of traditional watercolor, David R. Daniels interprets the world around him by painting transparent layers of pigment on paper to allow our eyes to visually mix the vibrant and rich colors of nature. The freshness and spontaneity of his work belies the weeks or months the artist spends researching his subjects, making sketches, taking photographs, developing compositions, doing value studies, and preparing for the painting process. Fascinated with subjects from nature, Daniels is influenced by his scientific training as a botanist and biologist and carefully studies and closely examines the details of the birds, fish insects, plants, trees, and bodies of water that fill his paintings. Mounting the completed works onto canvas for support, he varnishes the surface in order to both protect the surface and to eliminate the need to present his work under the glare of glass.

Daniels, who grew up in rural Michigan and is a long-time resident of Montgomery County Maryland, is an award winning artists whose work has been exhibited both regionally and nationally. His paintings are included in many private and public collections around the world, including the National Institutes of Health. He is a highly respected educator who has taught workshops around the world in addition to teaching painting and design courses at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD. Daniels is currently a watercolor instructor for the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC and is the Visual Arts Director of the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival in Italy. Daniels earned his BA and MA from Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI. To learn more, visit: www.mrwatercolor.com