Clockwise from Top:
“Instigator”, 22” x 30”, Watercolor on Arches Paper
“A Helping Hand”, 22” x 30”, Watercolor on Arches Paper
“Dream Big”, 22” x 30”, Watercolor on Arches Paper
“Along For the Ride”, 22” x 30”, Watercolor on Arches Paper
Portrait of the Artist, Daniel Angeles
“Cranking Them Out”, 30” x 22”, Watercolor on Arches Paper
“Pulling From Life Lessons”, 22” x 30”, Watercolor on Arches Paper
Telling Stories
As with all of the paintings I have created over the last 3 years, this body of work is inspired by pivotal moments in my life. I am a self-taught artist that uses my unconventional skills with watercolor in conjunction with my imagination to tell my stories. I draw from not only recent events but also distant thoughts that are imbedded in my mind. Hummingbirds and Monarch Butterflies are my most precious muses. Both exist in some of the fondest memories I have of my childhood, they also make appearances in random settings to this day. I use them as my voice to depict my spirit in the work I create. They can also represent others that have played important roles in my life.
While my paintings are seen as whimsical and playful, the meanings behind them are generally very serious and monumental in regards to the emotions that inspired the images. I use my love for art as a way to release some of my most inner thoughts and hidden feelings. As if my paintings were my journal, I can look back at my body of work and remind myself on lessons I’ve learned in the past, or of the blessings that I have experienced.
Although these are my stories, I ask the viewer to see them in the first person. I want them to place themselves in the work and connect to the human emotion that I have poured into them. Art is subjective and I love to think that something I have created has made an impact on the life of another, even if their interpretation is completely different than what I felt or experienced at the time of conception. That is what makes my paintings so special to me. It is my way of opening the minds of others and giving them permission to experience a place that they may never have gone to on their own.
Like a bird disregards the pull of gravity, allow yourself to put aside your preconceived thoughts of what is right or wrong, and just enjoy the flight into a world of emotions and imagination. That’s where some of the best stories are made. That’s where these stories were made.— Daniel Angeles
Dallas, Texas
Daniel Angeles is currently participating in a show at Craighead Green Gallery, until June 21
1011 Dragon Street
Dallas, TX 75207
214.855.0779