Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Campbell.
Hi Dan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2013 my life changed and I began a remarkable journey. I had lost a business consulting gig and it got me thinking introspectively. At 56 years old I began to review my life and what I wanted to accomplish and leave behind. After 30+ years in the business world, I returned to the passion that once moved me as a young person. It was if the light in my soul came on, a true A-HA moment, an epiphany when I realized there was this stirring desire to create. Although my wife had a good career, I still needed to earn a living. The new age tools of the internet and social media gave me some confidence that I could adapt my old-school market skills to create my own art business.
I created some paintings and sought feedback from some other local artists and galleries. As a member of a local business networking group, I landed some commission work right away and I was off and running! I began selling at festivals, local exhibitions, and partnered with some local retail locations and galleries outside of town. I started my own Annual Holiday Art Showcase which is well attended by friends and clients. I now have my own home gallery/studio and we hold 2 home shows each year. I enjoy doing commission paintings for people employing my style of impressionism with a dash of abstraction in my work.
Creating art continues to be a splendid adventure, connecting me to some wonderful people, allowing me to contribute some meaningful beauty to this world and bringing a level of fulfillment that was missing in my life. For the joy of creating art is only matched when another person finds a true and soulful connection to it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As with any business you have to market your business and find clients. My local business networking group was a great launch pad and is still effective in garnering referrals. As with most artists, we have to refine our artistic style, find the mediums that suit what we create and find ways for people to see what we do. As with any business, building long term relationships with your clients, and in our case, collectors, is key.
Email marketing, website, newsletters, social media and face to face marketing are challenges but a necessary part of selling your art.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My painting style features vibrant color and bold, sweeping, dynamic brush and palette knife strokes. I describe it as modern impressionism with a dash of abstract. The creativity in “blurring the lines” of reality is the signature of my work. I love exploring representational subjects with an abstract twist.
I think of painting as part painting and part sculpting. The textures in a painting can play as strong a role as the colors in the creative process. I also mix in techniques like pouring, dripping, splattering, layering, cracking, and scraping in many of my paintings. I use acrylic paint predominantly for its versatility but I love oil also.
Music often inspires me as I was a guitar-playing child of the 70’s. But inspiration comes from so many subjects from wildlife to wonderful grandchildren, sailing to sports, figurative to florals and more. With 30 years of pent-up creativity, I could never run out of inspiration!
What are your plans for the future?
I plan on continuing to paint and putting some beauty back into the world, as long as can! As they say when you love what you do…it isn’t work. And I now have 9 grandchildren to continue teaching and sharing my love of art with!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dancampbellart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancampbellart99/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancampbellart/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-campbell-78b7b395/
- Other: https://dancampbell.pixels.com/index.html?tab=galleries
