I am excited to have this interview with Dan May, one of the most exciting new artists in the city. I will let Dan’s own words and his artwork tell the rest of the story.
Age?: 27
Where are you from, how did you get here?
I was born and raised in Rochester, NY, i went to school in Syracuse, NY, relocated to NYC after graduation, lived there for almost four years, and finally landed here in Jacksonville! Moving here was surprisingly one of the best things to happen to me.
Unfortunately, in NYC I had to split my time between painting and bar-tending to keep pace with the high cost of living. As time went by I found myself bar-tending more and more and painting very little. Once we moved down here I was able to focus solely on painting and have been doing so ever since! Plus you really can’t beat the weather down here…
Favorite Artists?
Oh man, that’s a tough one! here are a few of my faves out there today… Colin Johnson, Doug Boehm, Robert Hardgrave, Jeremy Pruitt, Aaron Nather, Jeremiah Ketner, Jason Proudler, Katy Horan, Chris Buzelli, Gina Triplett, Dennis Hayes, Mike Maxwell, Elsavet, Craig LaRotonda, Travis Louie, Neil Swaab, Julie West, Chris Ryniak, Martin Ontiveros, Bwana Spoons, Amy Sol, Brendan Monroe, Mike Burnett, Dave Cooper, Amanda Vissell, Sam Weber, Eric White, Alex Gross, Mark Burkhardt, Mars-1, Scott Musgrove, Jeremy Fish, Chris Sickels, Daniel Chang, APAK, Naoto Hattori, Brendan Danielsson, David Jon Kassan, Chris Reccardi, Ronald Kurniawan, Johnny Yanok, Nathan Spoor, Joe Vaux, Buff Monster, Banksy, Doze Green, Jeff Soto, Mark Ryden, Todd Schorr, Tim Biskup, Gary Taxali, the Clayton Brothers, Tim Burton, and so many more.
I have to say I really admire any artist who is constantly pushing the envelope, and putting himself or herself out there. Here are a few faves of the past… Dali, Bosch, Magritte, Picasso, Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, Van Eyck, Norman Rockwell, Disney, Dr. Seuss, Basquiat… and the list goes on!
What influences you?
Nature, bugs, toys (antique to urban vinyl), music, books, magazines, travel, old stuff, collecting art, great design, street art, the world around me, friends and family, and of course my lovely wife Kendal!
Describe your style…
Hmmm, I always hated the word “style” when describing my work… I think it makes me feel somewhat suffocated. I’m constantly trying to push the envelope in my work, always experimenting with different techniques, colors, materials, etc. However, to answer your question, I would best describe my work as a healthy mix of pop influenced surrealism, with roots in traditional illustration. I’d like to think my work could be applied to various settings, from galleries, to the pages of a publication, and everywhere in between.
What do you think about the Jacksonville art scene so far? / What would you do to make it better?
So far I would say I’m not all that impressed with the Jacksonville art scene. I don’t mean to slam Jacksonville, but when you look at the progressive stuff that is happening on the west coast and in other major cities throughout the world it’s hard not to get down on the state of things here.
That being said, I think Jacksonville is a young city that is full of potential. I’d love for more art schools to pop up around here, more galleries catering to the the whole pop surreal, lowbrow, newbrow, outsider, folk art, urban art, pervasive art, or whatever you wanna call it scene. I feel as though we are embarking on an almost neo-renaissance of sort in the art world, and not just here in the US, but worldwide. It’s an exciting time to be an artist… just pick up an issue of Juxtapoz, or check out sites like Art Dorks, Fecal Face, Illustration Mundo, Boonika, Drawn! and you’ll get a very small taste of what’s happening out there! I do have to give props to Urban Jacksonville for this wonderful site, Urban Art Warfare for there efforts, and all the local galleries, shops, and people who are embracing and taking part in this movement, they’re out there… i think we just need to keep building on things and we’ll get there!
Do you have any upcoming shows we should know about?
Let’s see… I have a show at DvA Gallery (www.dvagallery.com) in Chicago opening October 20th, I’m taking part in the Modern Monster group show through Blah Blah Gallery (www.blahblahgallery.com), I have a show in Idaho Falls in January, and a show a Denver show in February. Locally, I’ll be showing at Burrito Gallery in January, plus I have a slue of other shows scheduled for 07′ …stay tuned to my site for further details.
Dan May Illustration
Dan May Flickr
tags: jacksonville, art, dan may, illustration
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joeymarchy
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Downtownparks
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ed
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Mrite (Tom)
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Levi
