Dan Riggs
Artist Statement
My subject matter has always been eclectic, from the Classics and the Renaissance period to science fiction, fantasy, nature, and sports. If there is one common thread in my work, it is humanity and the spiritual essence of all life.
Email: dan.riggs@artworkriggs.com , Website: www.artworkriggs.com
Artist Bio
As early as junior high school, at John Burroughs Jr. High, he took an interest in creative drawing and received encouragement from his mechanical drafting teacher. It wasn’t until high school that he took more seriously an interest in drawing, painting, and sculpture while attending Fountain Valley School of Colorado (FVS), Colorado Springs, Colorado, for three years. There, his interest blossomed under the gentle instruction of the late Walter B. Wilson. Wilson’s painting career spanned 66 years. He was influenced by his great-grandfather, Ralph A. Blakelock, who was a 19th-century Hudson River School
Under Wilson’s tutelage, he got in touch with the joy of creativity and gained confidence in his art. He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, and as an art major and art history minor, he continued to pursue art. There, he took a variety of classes in printmaking, including metal etching; art design, anatomy drawing, painting, and sculpture. His painting class instructor was Robert Hansen, an American painter known for his use of industrial paint on
panels. Hansen obtained a Guggenheim Fellowship and also taught at the University of Hawaii and Occidental College. While in college, he was also inspired by Charlotte Sherman, a portrait artist and Art Director of the Heritage Gallery, Pacific Palisades, California. She was a wonderful artist and the other of one of Dan’s closest friends during his youth. He often visited her home, watched her painting in her studio, and drew impromptu sketches while family and friends visited at the dining room table. She also showed him how to throw a clay pot on a wheel. During the late 60’s, despite great support and encouragement from his mentors, he found it difficult to see a future as a fine art professional.
In 2001, he regained his interest in drawing and continued to draw off and on for pleasure only. Finally, in 2020, with encouragement from his wife, he decided to make his passion a profession. He hopes you enjoy his artwork and photography as much as he enjoys creating it!
