daniel elson

daniel elson is a master of saying a great deal with very little. as an artist, this seems to me the most difficult challenge—to say exactly what you want without diluting it. elson’s work is simple in the charmingly unassuming sense of the word, but it is far from simplistic. i think ‘pastoral in orange’ is my favorite. you can view his new painting inspired by ‘the giving tree’ as part of beyond the page, opening this friday at gallery 1988. the show will be up through may 23rd.



frank duveneck once said something to the effect that “only an amateur would try to use all the colours.” when arranging my palette i use only the tubes of paint necessary, rarely more than five and mostly umber and sienna. true colour is made by juxtaposing the intensity and value of hues. i never use black. i buy paints with the purest mixture and the largest concentration of pigment. and i’ve never used the same palette twice. trust your gut.