Smorgasboarder_16_March-2013

snow gave me a deeper love for
the ocean. I’d recommend that
trip to any of the young crew.
“A Mentawais boat trip with your
mates is something you have
to do, although there’s a pretty
nice head high peak running lefts
down the beach just out front
of here… Got some crackers
this morning, so my fav’ spot is
definitely where I live.”
And despite being incredibly
busy with a mountain of work,
Dan makes sure to make the
most of that magic at home as
often as possible.
“Too much work is no good for
your health. Nothing gets me
pumped more than when I’ve got
several art jobs backed up with
deadlines or whatever. I’ve got
a beautiful family to feed, so I
put pressure on myself to smash
all my jobs to a quality finish on
time, though without balance in
life, work becomes impossible.
“I live 5 minutes walk from my
beachbreak and reefbreaks and I
work 5 metres from where I live,
so it’s important I don’t miss a
morning session or good swell.
But more importantly, I don’t miss
a deadline. I work at night a lot!
“If the surf and work is pumping
at the same time however, it
can get tricky. Too much surfing
while stretching deadlines
usually means I’ll paddle out and
have a shocker.”
As far as the art goes, airbrushing
is Dan’s main medium, which he
explains is fast and versatile for
what he does. He explains a little
about the process behind it all.
“If you’ve ever blasted a spray
gun or done some aerosol can
work, it’s the same principal
with compressed air - just that
an airbrush allows fine, hairline
control. Just pull the trigger for a
few thousand hours ‘till you get
the feel for it!
“I don’t call myself an ‘airbrush
artist.’ I’m just an illustrator who
uses an airbrush as one of his
tools. There’s a lot of ‘airbrush
artists’ out there who only know
masking and taping and stencil
techniques to get results. That’s
fine, and there’s loads of tricks
you can learn this way - even
possibly a market for those type
of graphic effects, if you want
to spend your time masking and
taping and using a stencil knife in
order to paint smooth fine lines.
99% of my work with an airbrush
is total freehand. It’s just another
discipline, so the harder you work
at what you want from it, the
more you will be rewarded.”
But the reward goes both ways,
as Dan uses his art for good too.
From day one he has donated
artwork to various causes. In
fact it was his involvement with
‘SIDS and Surfest’ back in 2000
that inspired him to start work
on the Surfing Legends project
- caricatures of men’s world
champion surfers, of which the
originals have all been signed.
This cool series of caricatures
he explains “illustrate trademark
characteristics of a person around
an easily recognisable melon.”
Spreading smiles and good
vibes, Dan believes it’s all about
karma to give back to the people
who need help, which in his case
happens to be via surfing-related
fundraisers.
While artworks are like children,
we were curious if Dan had any
particular favourite pieces?
“My latest piece is my best,”
he says. “The surfing legends
collection which is a work in
progress is a favourite. The
collection is for sale with a
clause that lets me continually
add more legends and champs
as they arise.
“I’m pretty stoked with all my
pieces, as they have all involved
a similar amount of energy to
produce. By far my best work
though, is my wife and 3-year-old
daughter, with grom number two
due in March 2013.”
Dan welcomes people getting
in touch about any of his art, so
if you’re interested in finding
out more, or need some artwork
done, drop him a line. For
questions, comments, orders,
shows and latest works, see
www.danieljoycedesign.com or
look up ‘danieljoycedesign’ on
Facebook.
mar/apr 2013 | SMORGASBOARDER 121