Dan May Art
American, b. 1955
Dan May is an American painter and printmaker born on March 11, 1955 in San Francisco, CA. Raised in aesthetic surroundings heavily influenced by his architect father, May grew up learning to view all things with an eye for design, color, and shape. At age 5, he remembers his father cutting up a book of drawings by Henri Matisse and hanging them on the walls of their home. The French master Matisse as well as Richard Diebenkorn and David Hockney are his favorite art influences. He began his first attempts at painting at age 15, and later began to experiment with printmaking, teaching himself various techniques such as woodblock printing, etching, silkscreen printing, and monoprinting.
Monoprinting soon became May's medium of choice due to its wide range of expression and spontaneity that he felt other techniques lacked. May - "With monoprinting, you can only work a piece for as a long as the paint stays wet, so the resulting print has a feeling of movement and immediacy. I also like how monoprinting allows the brush strokes to transfer a transparent light quality to the print. For me, this is a technique that bridges drawing, painting, and emotions." The themes of May's prints borrow from his fantasies, memories, and the people and places he has seen in life's checkout lines and waiting rooms. "My work allows me to be a voyeur, to see through the walls into life's secrets, and unveil the hidden stories of everyday life," he says.
Color and design are essential elements in May's work. Exploring and playing with color is a huge source of enjoyment and passion for May. "Working with color combinations, playing color against color to create an electric contrast, never ceases to excite me," he says. May finds working color with design elements and balancing compositions is challenging, frustrating, and supremely rewarding.
Today, Dan May lives and works in Oakland, California. He has shown his paintings and prints in galleries predominantly throughout California and his work is in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the United States and the world.
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Hanging on Martini /// Art Deco Nude Figurative Linocut Contemporary Alcohol
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Hanging on Martini"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 2002
Medium: Original Linocut on white ...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Linocut
Dog Portrait /// Contemporary Portrait Animal Face Monoprint Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Dog Portrait"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 2004
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded white cotto...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Oil
Dog in House /// Contemporary Monoprint Animal Pet Colorful Funny Pop Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Dog in House"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 2006
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded white cotton rag laid paper
Limited edi...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Oil
Girl In City /// Contemporary Monoprint Portrait Woman Lady Figurative Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Girl In City"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 2006
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded white cotton rag...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Oil
I Need Him but I Should Leave Him /// Contemporary Lithograph Figurative Girl
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "I Need Him but I Should Leave Him"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1984
Medium: Original Lithograph on Rives BFK pap...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Lithograph
Milk and Teddy Time /// Contemporary Pop Art Screenprint Baby Crib Children
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Milk and Teddy Time"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1986
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded white wove paper
...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Crazy Dog /// Contemporary Pop Art Funny Screenprint Animal Pet Black and Purple
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Crazy Dog"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1996
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded white wove paper
Limited ed...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Reading in Space /// Contemporary Black and White Screenprint Rockets Planets
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Reading in Space"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1988
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbrand...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Berkeley Pedestrian /// Contemporary Monoprint Face Portrait Figurative Glasses
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Berkeley Pedestrian"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 2005
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded white cotton rag laid paper
Limi...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Oil
Reclining Nude (Blue) /// Contemporary Pop Street Art Figurative Screenprint
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Reclining Nude (Blue)"
Portfolio: Reclining Nudes
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1983
Medium: Original Screenprint o...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Woman with Fruit /// Contemporary Pop Art Screenprint Nude Food Colorful Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Woman with Fruit"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1994
Medium: Original Screenprint o...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Man Reading /// Contemporary Pop Art Screenprint Lamp Book Man Funny Black White
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Man Reading"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1988
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbrande...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Nude with Dogs /// Contemporary Pop Art Screenprint Animal Pet Black and White
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Nude with Dogs"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 2005
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded white wove paper
Limit...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Party Pig /// Contemporary Animal Funny Portrait Monoprint Black and White Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Party Pig"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1989
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded white cotton rag laid paper
Limited editio...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Oil
Devil Chicken Dinner /// Contemporary Funny Linocut Black and White Man
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Devil Chicken Dinner"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Circa: 1995
Medium: Original Linocut on white Hosho ...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Linocut
Energizer Bunny's Birthday /// Contemporary Funny Humor Figurative Monoprint
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Energizer Bunny's Birthday"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1996
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded heavy white wove paper
Li...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Oil, Paint, Monoprint
Up the Stairs /// Linocut Contemporary Funny Humor Romance Screenprint Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Up the Stairs"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1998
Medium: Original Linocut on white Hosho handmade paper
Limited ed...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Linocut
Reading in Space II /// Contemporary Black and White Screenprint Rockets Planets
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Reading in Space II"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1988
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded white wove paper
...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Reclining Nude (Maroon) /// Contemporary Pop Art Screenprint Figurative Legs
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Reclining Nude (Maroon)"
Portfolio: Reclining Nudes
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1983
Medium: Original Screenprint...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Phone Loitering /// Contemporary Pop Art Screenprint Funny Red Blue Lady Gossip
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Phone Loitering"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1984
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded ...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Portrait of a Girl /// Contemporary Pop Art Portrait Painting Colorful American
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Portrait of a Girl"
*Signed by May in collage lower left
Circa: 2010
Medium: Original Acrylic Painted Collage on boar...
Category
2010s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paper, Acrylic, Illustration Board, Paint, Board
At the Beach /// Contemporary Funny Humor Nude Beach Ocean Monoprint Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "At the Beach"
*Signed by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1993
Medium: Original Monoprint on unbranded white cotto...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Oil
Reading Pig /// Contemporary Pop Art Black and White Screenprint Animal Funny
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Reading Pig"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1984
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded white wove paper
Limited ...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Nude and Cat /// Contemporary Street Screenprint Figurative Black and White Art
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Nude and Cat"
*Signed and numbered by May in pencil lower left
Year: 1987
Medium: Original Screenprint on unbranded w...
Category
1980s Contemporary Dan May Art
Materials
Screen
Dan May art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Dan May art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of purple, red, blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Dan May in screen print, acrylic paint, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Dan May art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Dan May art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $100 and tops out at $5,000, while the average work can sell for $600.