Interview with Daniel Mckinley

How has your art evolved from when you first started to now, as an award winning artist? Can you pinpoint any significant turning points or breakthroughs in your journey?

My first breakthrough came when I was when I was writing was writing in my journal one day. I was not in the greatest mood, and I was having feelings of being trapped by my environment.

I normally do not sketch when I write, but that day I made a sketch of a man escaping a painting, only to find himself trapped in another painting. He tries to escape again,only to find himself in a larger painting.

I set out to stretch the largest canvas that I could fit in my small space and proceeded to paint.

I called the painting “Confinement in a Larger Space”. This is when I started looking inward and started making my works personal.

What inspires you the most , and can you walk us through your creative process from the initial process to the finished piece?

What inspires me most is my love of all things art. The creative process drives me.

Sitting in front of an empty canvas, knowing that the possibilities are endless.

I cannot call myself a traditional artist who spends a lot of time making sketches before starting a painting. I sketch directly on the canvas. I call it having a conversation with the canvas. It may start with a chair, or a flower, or a doorway, and then it all comes down to what if.

There is a lot of push and pull. Addition and subtraction, until the canvas is filled and I am ready to paint. I then have a general idea of where the painting is going from there, as if the painting is in control of me and I allow it to speak to me. When I paint I use mostly transparent paints and I paint in layers.

I have to allow the paint to dry, which is why I usually paint two to three paintings a time.

I find that I have to end the painting if I find myself working and reworking the same area for too long. The painting then tells me that it is done, and I have to let it go.

Upon looking at it months later there are many times that I can honestly not remember the process at all.

This is what inspires me to continue.

How has receiving awards and recognition impacted your approach to your art and your career trajectory?

The awards and the recognition are what gives me the desire to continue.

As an artist I spend many hours working on a painting never sure if it would ever be accepted or understood. I am not able to compare my work to other artists,or any other artist movements.

This being said, I often feel as if my work has yet to be defined. I may be wrong, and I am not trying to say that my work is groundbreaking. As an artist my work is not a result of collaboration. There is no immediate feedback. With every painting I am sharing the deepest and the most intimate parts of myself. A person who always questions . The awards and recognition gives me a sense of validation.

My thought has always been that my work is not about me.

It is bigger than me.

Your color palette is heavily by nature. Can you describe a specific instance where a natural scene directly inspired the colors of one of your paintings?

My Sky Blue Water paintings are directly inspired by the paintings of Richard Diebenkorn‘s ocean park series. I adore this series of paintings so much, that he is the only artist that I wanted to emulate.

And so as a tribute to him, I was inspired to start the Sky Blue series in his honor.

Your paintings often feature architectural and interior spaces. What draws you to these subjects, and how do you approach them differently to your work?

Going back to the painting Confinement in a Larger Space, I was intrigued by the fact that we are never satisfied with the place that we find ourselves. We are forever looking for an escape. We spend most of our lives inside buildings. Our only escape is to look through windows and to dream of things beyond. Yet when we are outside we feel the need to go back inside for protection, to feel safe.

The architectural represents inclosure. The interior represents our need to escape.even though we are enclosed in a space we place objects within the space in order to escape. Flowers, pictures, a painting.

To remind us that beauty still exists.

Don‘t forget, there is still the window.

Your artwork offers viewers an escape from reality. Can you share how you conceptualize and create these immersive and atmospheric spaces in your paintings?

There exists a world that lies beyond. A world that can only be accessed through imagination.

Watching a television show, reading books, listening to music. When you’re inside a room these are things that you use to escape. I see a lot of paintings where the viewer can be stuck, with no where to go. With my paintings I try to offer you a place to go. A place where you can say, “We’re not in Kansas anymore”. My goal is to have the viewer interest a world that’s unexpected.

How has your artistic style evolved over the years, and what have been some significant milestones in this journey?

When the journey began I would paint in the style of others. As the years passed, I have learned to trust in my vision of the world. Now that I have a body of works that are unique to me, I can now build upon what I have done in the past.

Instead trying to create something that has been done before, I now have the confidence to create something in my own style.

Traveling the world and being a part of group shows has helped me become the artist that I am.

Talking to other artists and hearing their stories made me realize that I am not alone in this journey.

I am grateful to be a part of the artistic community.

How do your personal experiences and emotions translate into your art, especially in the context of vibrant color use and spatial representation?

My approach to my work is to trust in my instincts and myself. I have tried to be neat and organized with my tubes of paint. It never seems to work for me. There is no plan. It also depends upon what music I am listening to.

My emotions and moods have a major influence on my paintings.

There are choices made consciously

There are choices made without thought

There are times when I know exactly what I am doing

There are times when I have no clue

There is only a belief

That everything will work out

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your artistic process, particularly when working with oil on canvas?

Being patient. Painting in transparent layers , I must allow everything to develop. If the process is rushed and if I try to do too much the colors become muddy and I loose the vibrant colors that I am trying to achieve.

As an artist who has already achieved considerable success, what are future projects or goals are you most excited about, and how do they reflect your artistic growth and vision?

My plan for the coming year is to introduce myself and my work to a larger audience. My goal is to exhibit. I have been working in my studio for a while ,and I am now ready to introduce myself and my work to the world .

Danielmckinleypaintings.com