Interview with Daniel McKinley — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you started in the arts? and your first experience in art-making?

I have always been surrounded by the arts.

Growing up, I was a dreamer. Always wishing

That I could be somewhere else.

I would read books

I would write poetry

I would draw

I would go to museums

Where I found myself.

I started in the arts because I was never satisfied with the real world.

I have always felt that there was more

And yet we are taught to settle.

We are limited in our thoughts.

I found that art was my only escape.

Growing up I was a dreamer. Always wanting to be somewhere else.

I found myself by getting lost in art.

How would you describe yourself and your artwork?

My work

The reason being

To escape from confinement

We are trapped within our minds

Setting limits

My work involves possibilities

Things are not what they seem

There is always more

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Inspirations

The question is where does it all come from

The easy answer is everywhere

Like picking apples from a tree

The true answer is unknown

Almost abstract.

The conversation with an empty canvas

Lots of drawing

A lot of erasing

Lots of sitting

Pondering

Push and pull

Often not making much sense

Until I come across with one thing that I can work with

One thing that feels right

And from there

It grows.

There are times when I don’t know where it is going

I try not to analyze

There is only a trust

And the journey begins.

What emotions do you hope the viewers experience when looking at your art?

Emotion

I wish the viewer to see a different version of what they think they might already know.

I do not want the viewer to ask themselves “what was the artist thinking?”

I want them to ask themselves “how does this make me feel?”

I do not want the viewer to ask themselves “what was the artist thinking?”

And So my work will take you on a journey.

If you look at it long enough, you will see something that you haven’t seen before.

My goal is to challenge the viewer to think about what they are seeing.

To create there own story.

When do you know that an artwork is finished?

The Finish

Sometimes, the hardest part about painting is to know when to let go.

If I find myself re-working the same areas of the paintings, I will put it aside somewhere in my studio where I can see it . I will give myself one month while

I start another painting. If I make no changes after the month is over, then it

Is done.

What has been the most exciting moment in your art career so far?

The most exciting moment

My most exciting moment was when I was invited to show my work Le Salon de la Société des Beaux Arts at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

When I first received the invitation I felt overwhelmed and humbled by the history of this event. The exhibition was magnificent. Something that I will never forget.

How long does it take to produce one work?

How long does it take to finish a work

Depending upon the size of the painting, it takes two to five weeks to finish a project. I paint in layers, with slow drying time, so I am usually painting two canvases at a time.