The Meyer East Gallery - Artist Biography

Danny McCaw (b.1978). Danny McCaw is the youngest son of highly acclaimed American Expressionist Dan McCaw, and brother to abstract modern artist John McCaw. Danny began drawing and painting at an early age and in an atmosphere where materials and family encouragement were in abundance. His youthful drawings and paintings soon developed into mature individual statements. European buildings, street facades, cathedral, cafe scenes and ballet dances combine to make up the latest work by Danny McCaw.

"I like Europe with all of the beautiful facades and ancient buildings," says McCaw. "I was there last summer and took thousands of black and white photos. I love photography, as that is where I get the majority of the ideas for my work. Black and white photography gives a more dramatic feeling and mood."

McCaw favors dark colors that allow for light to work very dramatically on the canvas. "I use a primarily muted palette which really causes a strong use of light," say McCaw. "I have recently completed one painting which shows a person walking in front of a building and the light just nicks the top of the figure. This is what I love about working with light in a painting."

After McCaw lays out the basic composition, he lets a canvas rest for a brief time, then gets the look he is striving for by gently going back through the canvas and working the colors together. "I like to rub the work," explains the artist. "I also glaze a lot and find that this harmonizes the whole painting, helping me create a nice effect, working always for the light."

McCaw also enjoys deconstructing a painting down and starting all over again. "I scrape right through them and basically ruin the work, and then come right back and rebuild. I love learning through this experience. This experimenting helps me to grow and take more risks. I believe it is paying off, as my work looks different than that of any other artist I know." McCaw is excited about this method of working, as it allows him to paint more "expressionistically".

"I paint with an emotion, and the viewer sees this. My goal is to reach for the specific feeling of a place, rather than just what it looks like. This is why I spend so many hours working with mood and light, rather than detail." This process also allows McCaw to create these works in a more spontaneous manner, one that allows for a little more "give and take" in the painting process.

"I always begin a work one way, but then it takes a wholly different direction at the end. This is what I love about painting - I surprise myself," says McCaw. "I use textures, glaze over things, and build the painting up. I don't complete a work immediately. I don't want to. I need to struggle; I love that part of it. I experiment a lot and don't want to be a slave to anything."

McCaw's admiration for traditional art and its discipline has been the foundation for his own art. His appreciation for the freedom, exploration and discovery of the Expressionists has shown him the importance of individuality and creativity. He observes, "Every artist is on their own individual journey. Mine is that of exploration and self-discovery. Crossing the lines of fear and frustration, I challenge not only myself, but also my art. I never want to be confined or limited by any one specific way of approaching or thinking about art. My goal is to be able to take the things that move me and express them in my own voice, to give those things my emotion, my passion, my individuality."

"An artist must always strive to be part of his work. When this happens the painting becomes art. If I touch the viewer's emotions and heart, they then can enter the painting, like the poet that moves us with words; a painting has the same power and magic. Hopefully the viewer finds the treasures in my work; those treasures that moved me to paint in the first place. The treasures from my own journey, but which is a journey that we all share."

Danny's life is constantly immersed in a rich atmosphere of painters, poets, and photographers, where the atmosphere is one filled with creativity and imagination. To Danny, the search for his own individuality is of the utmost importance. His art is full of honesty and creativity, and it is constantly enriched by his inquisitive nature, his desire to find his own voice, and his effort to create lasting impressions.

In addition to the constant guidance of his father, Danny has studied art at El Camino College, the Scottsdale Artists School, and with one of the country's leading figurative painters, Steve Huston. In 2002 the Scottsdale Artists School awarded him the Wright Foundation Scholarship. Southwest Art magazine has also profiled Danny as one of the most dynamic emerging artists of his generation.