The Art of Daniel Danger

I saw a link to an artist's page and I am compelled to share it.
Consider it my public duty.

The above painting comes from artist Daniel Danger.  Danger is an illustrator, painter, and printmaker out of New England.  His subjects are, in the words of his site's bio:

"...old houses dead from the fallout of urban sprawl, railway bridges asleep from neglect, and trees that engulf everything; his work attempts to remind you of something you may have said to someone, or something someone may have said to you; back in that time period that's just too far away to remember clearly, but not so long ago you forgot about it completely. His memories and many of his friends are simply ghosts now, shaking him awake with mistimed alarm clocks and the sounds of a television from across the house. Documentation is key to get through the day. Things are always changing and its easy to lose yourself."

I am drawn to Danger's art not simply for its visual aspects, while those are delicious and the most immediately enticing of course, but also for the titles he has chosen for his work.  They are of literary quality.  The one above is entitled, "Or is it the dying little light of the soul." This next one is called, "Do we let it in?  Do we have a choice?"  Ominous for certain.

Danger's other titles are no less captivating.  "I'd sink to your city streets if I wasn't buried in your hands." "I have troubles today I had not yesterday." And my favorite (below), "I should have tried harder.  I shouldn't have given up."

Just look at that piece.  An empty room, perhaps set for a funeral luncheon.  Oh the interpretations one could make.  So much regret fused into one tiny canvass.
The art is moody, oftentimes containing the full spectrum of gray shades, and containing a menacing undertone that is accompanied by a melancholy that is aching to be released.  In the black and white illustrations, I see hints of Edward Gorey, and that is by no means a bad thing.

Danger's art is certain to appeal to fans of the horror genre, but there is so much more to these pictures than that.  In the same way that true "gothic" culture is about far more than death, Danger sees beauty in darkness and in isolation.  That is an aesthetic that I surely have disbosomed an affinity for at one point or another on these pages. But these need not be viewed as frightening or morose pieces.  Not at all.  Examine the paintings of trees at night in the snow, or the wolves or the houses in winter.  I personally can think of nothing more gorgeous than a clear night in December or January with snow everywhere upon the ground.  It has nothing to do with darkness.  Next time you find yourself out on such a night, pay careful attention to the colors that you see.  You'll pick up what I'm laying down.

Daniel Danger is a true talent.  I hope to keep seeing more and more from


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