Dozens of paintings later, Dan Shanahan is overcoming his fears
Anshul Roy | Staff Photographer
Shanahan has painted over 50 watercolors of streets, buildings and spots around Syracuse.
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Dan Shanahan is a paradox of an artist. He loves being outside in the streets and neighborhoods of Syracuse to paint his favorite spots in the city. Yet, the Syracuse native still finds going into the city “nerve-wracking.”
Shanahan created more than 50 paintings of Syracuse over nearly a decade, documenting city neighborhoods including downtown and the university neighborhood. A group of these paintings are now on display in the Everson Museum of Art’s new exhibition, “Dan Shanahan: Scenes of Syracuse” which will run from Oct. 1 to Nov. 13 as part of the Everson’s CNY Artist Initiative.
Shanahan has always been nervous when it came to his art and always found it stressful for others to see his work. He’s been painting around the city for eight years and has created a specific style, but still hesitates to deviate from it.
“I mostly do them just the way I do, but I’ve thought about doing them differently,” Shanahan said. “But I never want to ruin it.”
Shanahan’s exhibit is only from his watercolor works, but he also sees himself as an illustrator. Shanahan, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, said he’s been drawing his whole life, but hadn’t worked with watercolors much.
His style began to transition after he started attending open figure drawing classes about 20 years ago, where Shanahan was required to draw and show his work around others.
“That was another thing that was kind of nerve wracking, I’m going to draw where people might look at what I draw,” Shanahan said. “It’s no big deal. These are people who just like to draw, and so it’s not anything to be nervous about.”
After gaining some confidence from his open figure drawing classes, Shanahan began showing his art at public art displays, going to organizations like the Gear Factory to display and sell his work.
Around this time, Shanahan began his early works from the Scenes of Syracuse. Shanahan said he creates most of his watercolors in one sitting, as he goes to one spot to paint for three or four hours until he finishes. Shanahan drives where he wants to paint, sets up a chair and begins his work.
Initially, Shanahan was nervous about his excursions outside. His biggest worry was being seen as he painted.
“When I’m drawing a lot of the time and people are watching this, I can’t think,” Shanahan said. “It’s just been nerve wracking to sit down … even in a neighborhood where there’s houses, where nobody might come.”
But after a few trips and paintings, Shanahan was able to get over his fears. He even looks forward to the interactions he has with people who talk to him on the street.
Shanahan recalled a story of a young girl and her family running up to his art supplies and the enjoyment she had as she played with his supplies. The girl wanted to paint and even picked up a paintbrush, much to the annoyance of her father. Her older brother tried to show his sister how to use the paintbrush after watching how Shanahan used it.
Shanahan was moved by the innocent interaction of this young painter and her older brother. Shanahan also found that his journeys into Syracuse made him want to work with more artists, something he has not always been great at.
“I’m just not much for talking. I don’t know, I just kind of have trouble talking. Plus, I also have trouble being positive about other people’s artwork,” Shanahan said. “Something that is really hard for me is getting together friends that draw, that enjoy doing the kind of drawing that I like to do when I’m alone.”
This summer while I was painting on Townsend St one day, a dad & his 2 kid’s came by to watch me for a while, & the boy borrowed my brush for a minute to show me how I should dip it in paint, to preserve the point. He put the side of the brush in the paint, & pulled & twisted the brush along the paint. Well, I have a habit of pushing my brush into the paint, point 1st, & old habits die hard.
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While Shanahan may want to improve his social skills, his skills as a watercolorist are “amazing,” said Steffi Chappell, the curator and exhibition manager at the Everson.
Chappell said that Shanahan’s watercolors are the first to be displayed as a part of the CNY Arts Initiative. Visitors to the Everson interacted with his exhibit a lot, she said.
“What people so far, I’ve noticed, really loved about this show is recognizing the places that Dan is painting, which is not something that we get here to the Everson all the time,” Chappell said.
When school and youth groups come through, Chappell said she has taken a lot of joy out of seeing their excitement at recognizing the places around Syracuse. That aspect of the exhibition is exactly why Stephen Butler, the executive director of CNY Arts, values the CNY Artist Initiative so much.
“It fosters a close connection between the Everson and the communities it serves, encourages and validates artists who live here, and demonstrates that great art is being made everywhere,” Butler said. “It presents a wonderful opportunity for budding artists, children, and adults to visit the museum and see members of their own communities being selected and presented for their artistry.”
While the Everson continues to look to the future of their initiative, Shanahan looks to the future of his watercolors. Though he has thought about potentially running out of scenes to paint around Syracuse, he’s not worried about slowing down, and already has a backup plan.
“Maybe I’ll really get into doing paintings more how I want to do, where I think about it, rather than just look at what it is,” Shanahan said. “Then I can just go back and redo some of the scenes I’ve already done.”
At the very least, Shanahan knows he will be doing his watercolors for the foreseeable future.
“I’ll probably stick with this forever, I guess,” Shanahan.
Published on October 19, 2022 at 10:40 pm
