This page is used to give you useful information and quotes directly from the artists we represent. Click on the name below to go directly to that artist.
Danny Day
It is often said that involvement in sports is good preparation for life: supplying the participants with discipline, skills and self confidence. An example of this theory is California artist Danny Day. Danny, originally from Marion, Ohio, was a high school athlete who excelled at a variety of sports. He was a standout on the football gridiron and won the state pole vaulting championship. The lessons learned from his participation in sports helped him excel in other aspects of life, including graduating as valedictorian of his high school class and magna cum laude from the Columbus College of Art and Design. Most importantly, his sports background laid the foundation for his future art career.
After relocating to San Diego, Danny used his experience in sports as an endless source of inspiration. He has created many images depicting the great sports stars and scenes from all realms of the sporting world. Danny's paint brush is not limited to portraiture. He is also known for lush, highly realistic views of some of the world's great golf courses. "It's almost a cliche to say, but I think the most beautiful course to paint is Augusta," he says. "It's a winner every time you go into it."
In a departure from the sports spectrum, Danny recently was inspired to create two extraordinary pieces. "Daddy's Girl," a delicate and moving tribute to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, has been awarded excellence in craftsmanship and creativity. This is truly one of Danny's most heartfelt pieces. In addition, Danny used his vivid imagination and creativity to complete "2 P.M. Tombstone," a painting depicting the events leading up to the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Both these paintings are the first in trilogies and promise to be talked about for many years to come.
Most of Danny's works sell within the first few months, or prior to completion, as the majority of his art is either commissioned or in high demand. A full size painting can take from four to six weeks to complete, thus making his originals very scarce. He uses the traditional "master's technique" of oil painting to create detail oriented works which require a tremendous amount of research and accuracy. Danny has created a style that is unique in the manner in which it embodies and surpasses the true spirit of "realism."
Wes Kendall
Before entering military service, Wes Kendall was a civilian illustrator for the Military Airlift Command. Drafted into the army in September 1966 he took his basic training at Ft.Knox, Kentucky and was then assigned, as an artist, to the base printing plant. He want to Vietnam in June of 1967 assigned to the leaflet dropping 7th Psychological Operations Battalion in Da Nang, South Vietnam. As a Specialist E-5 he received a bronze star and was honorable discharged from the army in June of 1968. Since leaving the service, Kendall has been a staff artist with the Courier-Journal, a nationally respected newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky. Kendall has done work for the Saturday Evening Post, Sears Roebuck, The U.S. Olympic Committee, Insurance Underwriters and the Chrysler Corp. He also creates portraits, greeting cards, magazine covers and illustrations. Kendall lives in Louisville with his wife, Lynn and their three children.
Robert Summers
Of the American artists dedicated to portraying the Civil War it is doubtful that any could have been motivated by the same personal experience as Texan Robert Summers.
"My great Aunt may have been the last surviving widow from the Civil War," Summers says. "I have to check that out someday to make sure. But I used to deliver her Confederate pension check. It came from the US Treasury, and I'll never forget that it had a Rebel Flag on it. It was only $30 a month, a lot of money to me then. I wish I had her check now just to be able to keep it:' When Summers was delivering these checks there were only three surviving widows in the south.
Living in Glen Rose, Texas, Summers is strongly influenced by two American traditions, the Old West and the Civil War. In tribute to his outstanding abilities he was selected to sculpt an enormous trail drive scene in bronze for downtown Dallas under the banner of the Dallas Parks Foundation. The work, consisting of three horses and riders, along with 70 longhorn steers, may be the largest bronze project in North America in numbers of figures in a contiguous piece.
"Just the whole concept of the Civil War intrigues me," Summers says. "I guess the true purpose of the war was to test the mettle of the unity of the country. When you study the Civil War there wasn't much romance about it, but we romanticize it today". Summers cites men such as Lee, Jackson, Forrest, Longstreet and Hood as exemplifying our romantic vision of great battles and dashing heroes.
Summers describes his work as "painterly." He is detailed to a point but doesn't carry it throughout the painting. In his work, he clearly defines the subject but things that aren't critical to the overall work aren't hewn as sharply.
Summers is a traditionalist. He receives inspiration from Howard Pyle, one of the greatest teachers in America who taught many of the great illustrators around the turn of the century. "Many of his pupils became better painters than he was, but he was a superb teacher and he made a statement that I have read many times," Summers said. "Pyle said, 'Son if you want to paint a shoe, become the shoe."'
Summers' abundance of talent was recognized at an early age and he earned school money during the summer working as a sign painter. And while painting in his spare time, he pursued a professional career as a draftsman and technical illustrator.
His career as an artist received a major boost when he was introduced to the four hundred year old painting medium of egg tempera by fellow artist Ronald Thomason. The medium requires a methodical technique, and Summers credits this experience with an immediate improvement in the quality of his work. The power of his colors and his superb coupling of realistic and impressionist styles give each painting its drama. The very personal feeling one receives from a Robert Summers painting conveys a deep sense of commitment on the part of the artist not merely to this subject, but to art itself.
"Egg tempera demands discipline," he noted. "You have to completely think the subject out, and it really turned my style around:' The medium suited Summers' style and he soon thereafter began marketing his work to galleries in his home area of Dallas. The offers began coming in and his career took flight. Summers is an experimenter, having worked with acrylics, pastels, water colors, egg tempera, and now for his civil war subjects, he prefers oils.
Summers is an award-winning and founding member of the Texas Association of Professional Artist (TAPA), having captured the associations Best of Show, First Prize for Oils, Popular Vote and Membership Awards. In 1975, the Governor of Texas named Summers Texas' bicentennial artist. He has been presented a gold medal by the Franklin Mint as yet another tribute to the outstanding quality of his work.
Lee Teter
Lee Teter, by his own admission, has always been quietly different. His ability to create images from his own unique perspective enables him to create very emotional paintings. Lee used the deaths of people close to him to inspire his artwork. He realized, while visiting memorials, that beyond the stone and engravings was much more. He associates the memorials with faces and memories, and conveys this emotion in his paintings.
Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 172, conveyed many of their experiences to help Lee understand what servicemen have gone through. Between past veterans' insight and visits to the Vietnam wall, Lee brings the past to light in his work. "Reflections" and "Brightest Star" remembers and acknowledges the sacrifices made by all service men, women and veterans.
