Dan May Portrait Paintings
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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Artist: Dan May
Devil Drive /// Contemporary Painting Canvas Funny Pop Street Art Car Driving
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Devil Drive"
*Signed and dated by May upper right
Year: 1998
Medium: Original Acrylic Painting on heavy wove paper
Sheet size: 28.13" x 21.6...
Category
1990s Contemporary Dan May Portrait Paintings
Materials
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Cowboy /// Contemporary Pop Portrait Painting Funny Man Sheriff Dan May American
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Cowboy"
*Signed by May upper right
Circa: 2020
Medium: Original Acrylic Painting on Board
Framing: Framed in a contemporary black moulding
F...
Category
2010s Contemporary Dan May Portrait Paintings
Materials
Paint, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Board, Panel
Criminal #23 /// Contemporary Pop Art Painting Jail Prisoner Funny Bandit Figure
By Dan May
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Dan May (American, 1955-)
Title: "Criminal #23"
*Signed by May lower left. It is also signed on verso
Year: 2018
Medium: Original Acrylic Painting on C...
Category
2010s Contemporary Dan May Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Paint, Acrylic, Board
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Dan May portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Dan May portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of portrait paintings 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 and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Dan May in acrylic paint, paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Dan May portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Dan May portrait paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $400 and tops out at $1,600, while the average work can sell for $900.