Daniel Baxley is a former firefighter turned artist living and working in Gardner, Kansas. Drawing inspiration from the unconscious, Daniel creates abstract pieces using oil on canvas, mosaic, sculpture and fused glass, often exploring similar themes through the different mediums.
Talk about the work on view. What would you like people to know about it?
These pieces began as small 9”x 12” pastels. I began a practice in the summer of 2018, upon awakening and having my morning coffee to go to my studio. I allowed myself to enter into a meditative state and called forth any remnant images from my dream time or subconscious to come forth through the pastels. By the end of the summer I had completed 49 works. Since that time I have been reinterpreting a selection of the pastels into oils on canvas.
What did you have to develop, try or learn to create this artwork?
I had to learn to trust in my inner artist during this process and experience whatever came forward in the images and palette without judgment. I also learned more about working with pastels and the shifts I needed to make in the pieces as they were reinterpreted in oils.
How has your practice changed over time?
Originally my practice was focused mainly around painting. Over time my focus has merged into many media, including fused glass, mosaics and sculpture. Oftentimes there is crossover in my work in these different media.
What is your most important artist tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
My most important artist tool is my sketchbook / journal. It is my greatest tool for developing my thoughts, ideas and vision for new work. My glass kiln is something I could not live without in my studio.
Please list 5-10 books, movies and/or music that currently inspire you.
l am inspired by classical music and movies that are biographies of artist lives and works.
BlueBeard by Kurt Vonnegut
Whistler: A Life for Arts Sake by Daniel Sutherland
Giacometti: A Biography by James Lord
Luncheon at the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland.
