About
I grew up in northeastern Louisiana where I cultivated two persistent themes: a love of nature, and an unquenchable need to make things. Simply put, I am most satisfied when pursuing any number of projects.
Wired with a visual interest, my earliest memory of painting, a long-lost landscape in acrylic, was attempted around age 9, but I was attempting to draw this or that from the earliest years. Later, in my early teens, I received private instruction from Anne Goss Nelson of Bastrop, LA who challenged my perceptual rendering with the “paint what you see" notion, introducing color theory with oil, watercolor, and pastel. Validation followed with the winning of local art competitions, beginning around age 13. Accelerated Public School programs accepted me, as did a summer retreat for young art students and musicians, and though I have never considered myself an adequate student, I was of course, absorbing bits here and there. Honing technical skills in my own time, my artistic interest gained momentum, just as my abilities gained further recognition.
A B.F.A. was next. At Louisiana Tech University, I initially studied Design and Watercolor, then Graphic Design/Illustration (the highlight of which was acceptance into the Society of Illustrators’ 1986 Annual Scholarship Competition and Exhibition in NY) before committing fully to Fine Art. These were fruitful exploratory years, and so it was with the intent to teach that I arrived at East Carolina University for postgraduate studies in the fall of 1988.
In the early nineties, however, my desire to teach waned, and so I withdrew from graduate school after two years to self-educate and attempt an independent career. I consigned paintings to galleries while continuing to exhibit in competitions and engage commission opportunities, a highlight of which was working on location on St. Thomas and St. John U.S.V.I. in 1993. I have sold fine art to such corporations as The News Star World of Monroe, LA, Pepsi Bottling Co. and Burroughs-Wellcome of Greenville, NC, the M.C.V. Hospital of Richmond, VA, and Atlanta Foods International. I have also freelanced murals and architectural finishes in such prominent eastern NC homes as Parker and Becky Overton of Overton’s Sporting Goods.
In 2009 I returned to Louisiana after twenty years in North Carolina, initially producing murals within Shreveport, but eventually returning to my still life studio - and soon after, toward the end of 2011 I began my Kingdom series utilizing origami dragons. In addition to various national and regional exhibitions, in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 I placed as a finalist in The Artist's Magazine's Annual Competitions in the still life category, being featured as a Competition Spotlight in the 2011 July/August issue. In the summer of 2011 I was selected to produce NEA funded Temporary Art Installations for the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. Also In 2011 I was accepted into the International Guild of Realism: later participating in their 8th Annual Juried Exhibition of 2013. I joined Oil Painters of America in 2012: being selected for the OPA National Exhibition, Salon Show, and Eastern Regional in 2013, and was accepted as a finalist in the Art Renewal Center's International Salon of 2012/2013.
In 2013 I was featured in Southwest Art Magazine's August issue as an "Artist to Watch", and in American Art Collector Magazine: 96's October issue promoting the International Guild of Realism's 8th Annual Exhibition, and the Oil Painters of America's Eastern Regional. In 2014 I participated in the national museum exhibition American Still Lifes at the R. W. museum, and will have a still life feature article in The Artist's Magazine published toward the end of 2014. I currently have Gallery representation with Gallery Central of Hot Springs, AR and Artifacts of Eureka Springs, AR.
In the fall of 2013 I moved to Hot Springs, AR fully immersed in my still life studio (affectionately referred to as The Dungeon). The Kingdom still lifes continue to gain notice on an ever widening scale - inviting viewers into my imaginary world - being complimented by written text Tales from The Kingdom to be found on my website DanielMarkCassity.com. My other interests also include songwriting/recording, and short story writing; visiting these side projects greatly inform my painting studio, as is evidenced in my increased use of symbolism, story, and suggestion.
And so with my interest as my compass, I move ever forward, for from my perspective "an artist is an unstoppable force of nature – a particular genetic collision driven to produce – no matter what obstacles arise."
DM Cassity
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