Dan Pyle (born April 4, 1954 in

Wolf Point Wolf Point ( asb, šųktógeja oʾípa) is an incorporated ranchingtown in, and the county seat of, Roosevelt County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,517 at the 2020 census, down 4% from 2,621 in the 2010 Census. It is the larges ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

) is an American artist and a representative of Contemporary Realism. He works mainly in

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ...

and his drawings highlight figurative objects in general and the human body in particular.

Life

Career and artistic influence

''Weary Traveller'' (2014) Dan Pyle was born in Wolf Point, Montana, and grew up in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

. Dan Pyle has been drawing since his childhood and was awarded for his works early on. However, his artistic career began as a dancer with the

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, and was substantially influenced by his admiration for black and white photography. This cross fertilization is where his specific artistic style developed. Moreover, Pyle’s work is marked by contrasts and the special light of a

Jan Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

and a William Turner. Thematically, the human body with its muscles, shapes and movements are at the forefront of his work, which he is able to present authentically and expressively as a former ballet dancer. After moving to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, Dan Pyle settled in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

, developing his detailed technique with new and unconventional materials.

Style and techniques

''Lost in the Moment'' (2008) Pyle's media initially include paintings in

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...

, and, during a later period,

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

s for public spaces. After several phases, in which he also experimented with ink and

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a tra ...

, as well as pastels and

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, Pyle finally found charcoal as the medium of his choice. In addition to focusing on the human body there are unexpected and aged objects that he transforms into his charcoal compositions. So, in addition to living figures, old teapots to rusted motorcycles become his models to which he gives a new identity through the use of contrast, negative space and isolation. The anonymity that his art is reflecting are subject and intention at the same time. left, ''Crushed'' (2014) Pyle's technique with shadows and light seems to make the presence of color superfluous. So only a few of his works show deliberately weak color characteristics. Even in his current phase, the artist shows himself adventurous and works, e.g., with formats on wood. The substrate with its idiosyncratic structures gives his drawings an additional dimension. When editing his works Pyle aims to include negative space which isolates the subject of the drawing. His original compositions are already in his mind's eye, and the photography helps Pyle to capture the exact vision that he wants to realize. By avoiding a final photographic sharpness, Pyle's work breaks away from

photorealism Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be ...

and takes on its own interpretation of modern

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

Exhibitions

Dan Pyle's works are exhibited primarily in the US and increasingly in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. With 23 images, the Cosmopolitan Hotel in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

owns one of the largest private collections. Other exhibitions were held in West Hollywood,

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Santa Ana,

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Provincetown Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and now also in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

.Art of Man, edition 16 dated January 24, 2014, p. 27

file:Dan PYLE_In Pursuit of Freedom (1).jpg, ''In Pursuit of Freedom (1)'' (2009) file:Dan PYLE_In Pursuit of Freedom (2).jpg, ''In Pursuit of Freedom (2)'' (2009) file:Dan PYLE_In Pursuit of Freedom (3).jpg, ''In Pursuit of Freedom (3)'' (2009)

Honors and awards (selection)

* 2015 Still Point Art Quarterly – Chasing the Light (finding the shadow) – Best Drawing for "Shadows" * 2014 American Art Awards – 1st place, Still Life category for "Weary Traveler" * 2013 American Art Awards – 1st place, charcoal, for "In Pursuit Of Freedom" * 2012 American Art Awards – tied 1st place for "Predicament" in charcoal category * 2011 1st Prize winner – LarkGalleryOnline – The Rediscovery of Wonder, for "Silver Lining" & "The Accuser"

Bibliography

* 2015 Art Exhibeo Magazine – Dan Pyle: Time for you and Time for me * 2015 Still Point Art Quarterly – spring issue * 2014 Artist Portfolio Magazine Issue 17, pages 55–56 * 2014 Important World Artists, Vol. 1 * 2014 Hidden Treasures Art Magazine, yearbook 2014 * 2014 Art of Man magazine #16 – interview 10 pages * 2014 Drawing Magazine – spring issue – interview, 2nd prize winner * 2013 Art to Art Palette Journal – "Simple is Beautiful", Portrait of Dan Pyle * 2013 Artist Portfolio Magazine, anniversary issue 2 page spread * 2013 Artist Portfolio Magazine, portraits issue, full page feature * 2013 Artist Portfolio Magazine, winter 2 page spread * 2013 Still Point Arts Quarterly, ‘Everyday Objects’, Spring issue * 2012 Strokes of Genius V: The Best of Drawing—releasing Oct. 2013 * 2012 Wisdom Crieth Without (magazine) – Nov./Dec. issue, full page * 2012 Still Point Arts Quarterly, Summer 2012 Issue No. 6 – Still Point IV exhibition winners * 2011 – International Dictionary of Artist – World Wide Art Books * 2008 Scott Brassart, in: Bottom Line Magazine, April Vol. 27, Issue 16

External links

Website of Dan Pyle

Short profile

Dan Pyle at work

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, Dan 1954 births 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists American contemporary painters Realism (art movement) Living people Artists from Montana People from Wolf Point, Montana Artists from Washington (state) 20th-century American male artists