Artist Highlight - Charles Dana

Hometown:

St. Louis

Preferred Mediums:

Digital Photography

How many years have you participated in the Art on the Bluffs, Inc. Art Walk?

This will be my first appearance.

Where did you go to school, earn a degree, or formally study art?

Books and many years and hundreds of thousands of images.

What is your art about & what inspires your work?

Nature abounds in hidden beauty and I try to uncover this beauty and present it in an engaging manner.  A high percentage of my photographs are either close ups or macro (many times larger than life) images of subjects that although common are not normally observed and remain invisible.  My approach is to present the subjects in an uncluttered manner and emphasize their soul (essence) by the use of light and color, ala the French Impressionist painters.

What is your creative process like?

As I am a photographer and as I not do studio photography with posed subjects, I spend a lot of time wandering through gardens, parks, yards, etc. in search of interesting subjects and insects to photograph.  When back home, I go through the images to find the ones that make the cut - I then normally will do a slight crop to frame the image and adjust the contrast and color levels to provide my impression of the subject.  I never combine multiple images and I consider an outing to be successful if I can achieve one decent image and perhaps one out of ten of these will make it to the images that I print to sell.

How or when in your life did you know you wanted to be an artist?

About age twelve - teachers were rather adamant that I was wasting my time and would never amount to anything.  It took a while, well over a half a century, but at long last, I am a part of the art scene and now regret that I did not do this a half century earlier.

Where can your work be viewed?

Creative Gallery on Ivanhoe Avenue in St. Louis.  I will also be displayed in a couple of coffee houses in St. Louis but I do not have firm dates as of yet.

What shows have you displayed in?

This will be my first show although I also will be at the Shaw Art Fair in October.

What do you most enjoy about the art scene in St. Louis/Metro East?

.As this is my first venture here, currently, I am unable to say but I am looking forward to this show and hope to become a regular in the past for a number of years to come, well perhaps not too many as I am now 70.