Dan Dunn (born 1957) is an American improvisational speed painter and the creator of Paintjam, a theatrical performance art show in which paintings are created in minutes on stage.

Biography

Studying painting at Sam Houston State University in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home ...

, Dunn specialized in oil painting and watercolor, also doing sculpture and life drawing. While a student, he started drawing caricatures at Six Flags, Astroworld in 1977 as a college student; he continued through nine seasons."Paintjam Homepage , About Dan"
/ref> Dunn worked in advertising and graphic design but left that field to devote himself to caricatures full-time in 1989 when he launched a caricature artist talent agency, Caricatures Ink. His numerous caricatures include George H. W. Bush, Sting, Jimmy Buffett, Joe Theisman, Fran Tarkenton, Ray Childress, Warren Moon and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Mayor Bob Lanier.

Paintjam

Dunn was inspired to create Paintjam, his live improvisational

Speed painting Speed painting is an artistic technique where the artist has a limited time to finish the work. The time can vary, usually a duration is set from several minutes to a few hours. Unlike sketches, speed paintings may be considered "finished" after th ...

performance, by the Speed Painter Denny Dent, who died at the age of 55 in the prime of his career. Deep in debt, Dunn was looking for a way to meet his family's growing needs. He had success as part of an Atlantic City stage show, and his daughter posted video from the show on YouTube, where it received millions of hits. Dunn has appeared on ''

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'' ''

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'' and '' Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''.''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
/ref> He has performed all over the world painting such people as Richard Branson, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,

Sheikh Zayed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

in Abu Dhabi and

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

. He has opened or appeared with Shaquille O'Neal,

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

, Fergie, Chris Angel, Elvis Costello, Lionel Richie, Natalie Cole,

Taylor Hicks Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer who won the fifth season of ''American Idol'' in May 2006. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States fo ...

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, the Plain White T's, Maroon 5,

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

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, Craig Ferguson and Carolyn Rhea. Dunn lives in Houston with his wife Cindy and five children.

References

External links

Paint Jam

Rachael Ray

texasliveblog

slashworld

thehoopdoctors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Dan American cartoonists Living people 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists Painters from Texas 1957 births 20th-century American male artists