On a random “You Tube” tangent I stumbled upon someone interesting and different. His name was Danny Dent, unfortunately he passed away in 2004 but during his career he made more than a dent with his unique style of painting. He created this particular technique in the early eighties that he called “Two-Fisted Art Attack.” He painted with amazing speed, no under-painting, and no construction lines just a giant canvas, paints, brushes, and music. When the music started he dipped all six brushes, three in each hand, into various bright colors and exploded onto the black canvas. He quickly covered the surface with electric strokes periodically dropping the brushes to engage his hands. Traveling across the canvas he stayed in motion to keep the flow of energy and balanced it throughout the painting as he said, “The music makes it more like a dance on canvas.” He also added, “all these things paint, clay, or a horn are all lifeless instruments until we put our passion into them.”
Danny made art accessible to people, not just the finished product but the experience and satisfaction of finishing a piece. He allowed the audience to be a part of the process. He liked painting iconic images like Jimi Hendrix or John Lennon because he loved the reaction of the audience and their connection to the pieces. His style lives on through inspired artists like Dan Dunn and David Garibaldi who recognize the energy and experience that only live performance can bring to painting. He loved what he did but more importantly what his art did for other people.
