Danny Fox’s paintings feel, at times, like post-modern takes on Picasso and Gauguin. Born in England and now based in Los Angeles, the self-taught artist learned everything he needed to know from books.
“I learnt by looking at books,” he shared with Metal Magazine. “Everything that can be taught in a school is available in books. I studied the masters first because they were the only ones in the very small library where I grew up. All those books were full of men and women who had lived extraordinary lives. I began to think this was more necessary than a formal art education. Also, I didn’t do well at school, which combined with strange things happening in my life, the decision was made for me.”
His love for painting sparked at a young age, “around the age of fourteen,” he says. “Before that, I was just drawing or writing things. If I could time travel and visit my fourteen-year-old self and just show him a couple of simple things I could save fifteen years of hard digging.”
After washing dishes for many years to earn some money for his art supplies, his work is now featured in solo exhibitions that are sold out before they even open.
“When I’m making a painting I’m just trying to make a good painting,” he says. “If the thing is looking good and it’s telling a story of some kind then it might survive. I don’t expect anyone to relate to the artwork, but if they find something in it that makes it all better for them, then that’s all there can be.”
“The painting is done when the hatred stops,” he concludes. Take a look at some of his striking creations.
