Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Ketelhut
Hi Daniel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been an artist all of my life. Beginning with early childhood drawings, my work developed steadily, becoming more and more refined. Being encouraged by both teachers and parents to pursue my artistic interests, I majored in art at San Diego State University with an emphasis in studio art. After graduating, my art career floundered as I went from one retail job to the next. Even so, I never let my painting fall away completely – I always had some project or another in the works and occasionally exhibited my work in group shows.
Around 2010, I got involved in an artist support group, and a few years later, landed a job in the art world. The support group did wonders for my confidence, and was a steady source of inspiration and accountability. The job was with a company called Artworks San Diego, where I still work as an art handler who installs, packs, and transports art.
In the mid twenty-teens, I started exhibiting in group shows at Sparks Gallery, and am currently one of their represented artists. Being a represented artist has done more than anything else to make me a more disciplined, professional painter. I produce and sell paintings steadily through Sparks gallery while keeping my day job as an art handler.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggles of being an artist and being involved in the art world are many and varied.
For myself, after graduating with an art degree, my artistic endeavors took something of a nosedive. I didn’t really know what to do or where to go to pursue a career as a painter. I went through the motions of what I thought I was supposed to do to be a professional artist (submitted to galleries, etc.), but became discouraged when this didn’t lead to immediate results. I am by nature a pretty unassertive person, and, being initially discouraged, I remained in the retail job I had while in college, all the while thinking that one day things would “just happen” for me and my art career would take off. I was, of course, completely wrong about this. Things started changing when I met fellow artists through the artist support group I joined as well as my job as an art handler. I learned the importance of discipline, persistence, assertiveness, and remaining true to your vision as an artist.
Another struggle, and one that most artists go through to one degree or another, is a crisis of confidence in one’s ability to be a professional artist. Nagging questions of self doubt crop up again and again. Questions like, “Am I good enough?”, “Can I really be a professional artist?”, “So and so is much better than me – if they can’t make it, what chance do I stand?” All one can do is try to realize that these questions are ultimately meaningless as long as you remain true to your artistic vision and keep working, always doing the best you can.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a semi-abstract painter who believes that all art, whatever the medium or genre, serves as a window into another world.
Employing automatism, my imagery emerges through a balance of free association and conscious control. Most of my imagery is born in the sketchbook, where I scribble on the surface of the paper with a ballpoint pen. From this tangle of lines, I hone the image, allowing my intuition to pull imaginative combinations of enigmatic shapes and forms. I then do a small series of drawings and color studies, further developing the piece. Finally, I transfer this image to a canvas or panel and execute the painting.
Another process I employ, developed more recently, involves doing new paintings over old ones. I begin each painting by covering most, but not all, of the original imagery. Once these initial effacing layers have dried, I begin developing new imagery, allowing the still visible parts of the previous painting to act as jumping off points. As the new painting takes on a life of its own, I further hone the imagery with a greater variety of line, form, and color.
In each of these processes, the key involves a balancing act in which a certain amount of conscious control is overlaid onto an image derived at by largely unconscious means. The result is a realm in which an expressive-surreal sensibility gives rise to shapes and forms working to articulate themselves in an uncertain space. In addition to seeing the actual shapes, colors, and lines displayed on the surface, my work aims to tap into the viewer on an unconscious level, creating a more direct, visceral experience.
I am most proud of being a represented artist at Sparks Gallery in San Diego. When asked what I do, being able to tell people that I am a represented artist gives me a sense of legitimacy, confidence, and professionalism like nothing else. Furthermore, part of being a represented artist is having regular solo shows, which keeps me both accountable to the gallery and disciplined with my time in the studio.
It is the particular combination of my imagery and paint handling that sets me apart from others. Shapes and forms arrived at through largely unconscious means and rendered in a loose, expressive way is something I see few others doing.
How do you define success?
I define success as being true to yourself and always doing the best you can.
As an artist, this involves diligently working to perfect your own unique vision. Ask yourself what you want your art to convey. Develop your vision by first looking at artists whose work inspires you and then try new approaches. It also means doing all you can to promote your work. If you don’t know what to do, try your best to find out. Read books, listen to podcasts, reach out to fellow artists – in my experience, they are more than happy to dispense helpful advice. Find out what others are doing, try different methods and means and see what sticks.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.danielketelhut.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielketelhut?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Other: Sparks Gallery: https://sparksgallery.com/product-category/artist/daniel-ketelhut
