DANNY MCSHANE
Hi!
Welcome to my website, LivingWatercolour.com -there are a few other Danny McShanes around so I hope you've found the right one. I paint watercolour exclusively and mostly plein air scenes around north-east Scotland. My Instagram and Facebook are dannymcshane365 (link buttons above).
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I'm a self-taught watercolour painter having been a subsea engineer for most of my working life. Now I find myself painting, or thinking about it, most days. I live in Fyvie in rural Aberdeenshire with my wife, Jan.
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When I discovered watercolour relatively late I was frankly astonished by it. That sense of wonder hasn't worn off and I continue to be surprised by this magical medium in what I suspect will be a life-long pursuit. I made the decision from the start to stick to one medium, watercolour, because it's so capable yet has a direct simplicity and beauty of its own... but really because I fell completely in love with everything about it - the look, the materials and the feel of it.
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My favourite style is a fresh impressionistic realism that shows off light and colour and lends itself to the rush of painting outdoors while managing to look relaxed about it. I like those paintings best that have a lively spontaneity, and that look happy to be paintings rather than wanting to be photographs. So, not photo-realistic but not not too abstract, just somewhere in the middle. The charm for me is in the beauty of watercolour pigment on paper, the paint textures and brushstrokes, and the visibly human touch. I like seeing how simple marks suggest just enough information to build into objects and even atmospheres to make a whole scene. I also think watercolour does 'happy' better than any other medium and in the process I find a joie de vivre I hope comes through to the viewer. I get a real lift out of painting and being in these places -so If looking at a painting can raise your spirits just a little then the exercise has been doubly worthwhile. That's my whole theory of art.
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Feel free to drop me a line, at dannymcshane@gmail.com, with any enquiries or just to say hello . Ditto if you're a fellow painter and would like to join me to paint outside, just for the company.
Click here for info about sales & commissions.
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Danny.