Dan Shepherd

Dan was raised in the Pacific Northwest, enjoyed creative years in New York City  and Los Angeles but he is now based in Seattle. The balance between urban living and love of nature is an ongoing pursuit for him and a universal human theme that drives his artistic practice. He currently splits his time between the visual arts and working for conservation organizations. Dan has a Masters in Environmental Science from Columbia University and an International Diploma in Plant Conservation from the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew in England, as well as a BA in Japanese from the University of Oregon.

I grew up in Rural America as a kind constantly surrounded by nature and now I am someone who has spent most of my adult life in urban cities. This has feed my interest in how people connect to the natural world and guided my professional career in environmental conservation. The two photography series I have included, illustrate this ongoing interest. Blinded by science (described below) reflects how I found a way to artistically connect to a subject that I knew a lot about and draw me a tree (described below) is how I artistically explore other people's connections to a very similar subject. I have always loved painting and drawing and I think of my camera as just another artistic tool like a brush or pencil. That means I am not as interested in the camera as a way to document the world as it is seen but more as a way to tool to create my artistic visions. We are all constantly bombarded by digital imagery and much of it altered with apps and filters to make it look like a print that we would be holding in our hand pre digital camera revolution.

The materials and presentation of the final print for exhibition is something that I put a lot of effort into. My blinded by science serires is printed on a thick textured parchment style fine art paper which I hand tear to give it a deckle edge. Some of the prints in the collection are on my own handmade paper containing the leaves from the trees in the image. My draw me a tree series prints I wanted to resemble a sheet of paper torn from a drawing note book and pinned to wall. So, I printed on fine art paper that had holes punched like a notebook, I hand wrote the titles, and then mounted them in a shadow box with an actual pushpin glued in for effect. Seeing my prints in person is much better experience than online J. If you have any questions just ask away.

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