The iconic Volkswagen bus, a fixture in Southern California during the 1960s and ’70s, is a favorite subject of Daniels.
top of the food chain out there—or getting your keister pummeled.” At the center of it all is vibrant color, a medium he uses to recreate that which was created by his Creator, giving him a voice without words. “My vocabulary has so few colors,” he said. My art palette is unlimited,” he said. Daniels channels those colors in his quest to reproduce light, the main thing he observes when he studies nature. “(Its) the way light reflects color and
shape,” he said of his view of creation, particularly the pull of the ocean. “The impact of light upon your eyes. Every one gathers to watch a sunset because of the light. Sometimes there is spontaneous applause, too. We all see it. Maybe an artist doesn’t really see it better, maybe we just take a little longer to look at it and study it, then attempt to capture it with paint on canvas. And sometimes there is spontaneous apSee DANIELS, page 37
movie, Liddell was able to carve out a place in life for both missionary work and running. “I love the quote from ‘Chariots of Fire’ where Eric Liddell says: ‘I know that God made me for a purpose, for China, but He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.’ So cool. When I paint, I feel His joy and pleasure.”
Pursuing color and light
Daniels delight with the ocean, nurtured by his once-daily surfing exploits as a teen living in La Mesa, is a hobby he still pursues “now and again.” His tidy garage-based studio—situated in the foothills a good three-quarters of an hour east of the closest shoreline—boasts the expected art supplies, a retired surfboard designed for the big waves he no longer chases, a poster celebrating the colorful pageantry of the VW bus, and a commercial sign paying tribute to Rick Griffin, the late “surf artist” and illustrator who is one of Daniel’s artistic influences. “There is something so special about the salt air and sand and the sport of surfing,” he said. “It is extremely peaceful and pleasant, although the peace can be interrupted by the occasional sheer terror of the reality of not being at the An artist not to be pigeonholed, Daniels’ eclectic style also includes seascapes and tropical oases, including this colorful rendering of a bridge at Paradise Point Resort on the shores of Mission Bay. April 2014 | REFRESHED
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