"...beauties of the land..." "Decorative, exceptionally deft painting." "Lush, richly detailed landscapes…" "…sophisticated brush techniques…" Mary Abbe, Minneapolis StarTribune "Dan Mackerman has found beauty in the simplicity of his surroundings." Roxanne Van Duzee Furlong, Midwest Home Magazine Welcome. I am an artist currently living in St. Paul, Minnesota. Oil paint and soft pastels are my preferred media. I consider myself to be a "regionalist" since my interest is mainly to capture the landscape and people found within the upper midwest. I work both in the studio and outside (plein air). Many of my studio practices date back to the 19th century and were discovered through research, trial and error and 18 years of work as a scenic artist.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I come from a family of farmers. Both my grandparents farmed. I grew up on an acreage near a small town in Iowa, actually about fifteen miles from where Grant Wood lived and worked. I traveled a great distance away from what I knew and who I was, only to discover that the things I was familiar with were in fact quite noteworthy. Rural life is dynamic and in a state of great change. It has its own definable culture. And as I grow older I am keenly aware that it is vanishing. The gravel roads that I rode horses along when I was a kid have been replaced by an interstate. The thriving downtown that I remember has now died. Thanks to the interstate, people now shop at the Walmarts and Targets in the neighboring city instead of the local mom and pop stores. The field that adjoins our family acreage, once owned by a local farmer, is now the property of housing developers. I am disturbed by the realization that this way of life may disappear unnoticed. Painting has become the path that unites my life in the present with knowledge that has taken a lifetime to acquire.

I see myself mainly as a spectator. When I was a student, I once complained to a professor that I was having the equivalent of writers block. I could easily paint from observation, but I couldn't think of any ideas. He said, "Maybe you're like Monet. Monet always referred to himself as "JUST AN EYE". As a kid I interpreted his comment as an insult. Now, years later, I embrace that description.

January 2006 issue of Midwest Home Magazine
(Click on the image to read a very well written short biography)

CURRICULUM VITAE

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