Sharing A Gift: The Art of Dion Daniels

When you look into one of his paintings, Dion Daniels hopes you might discover your own animal spirit in the representations of Coast Salish wildlife. “Like if someone likes to joke around a lot, they might be connected to the raven. He’s the Trickster,” he said. “And if somebody is serious and doesn’t joke around, he might be connected to the eagle because he’s more about power and wisdom.”

That’s just one of the connections he wants to make within his community through art. A self-taught painter, Daniel’s grew up on Galiano Island, living with his grandparents. “My grandmother said I was given a gift,” he recollected. “She didn’t say I was gifted, I was given a gift and this gift is not for me to keep – it’s for me to share.”

His art reveals a spiritual bond between the land and its animals, as well as a respect for elders. A member of the Cowichan First Nation, he attributes the strength of his spiritual and cultural beliefs to his Galiano upbringing.

Inspired by the controversial art of Sue Coleman, he frequently puts realistic

representations in the same image as stylized Northwest Coast designs.

Daniels prepares his canvases with a technique that blends colours into the background. “I pour the paint on one side, all the colours I’m going to use, and then I kind of like squeegee it across and it blends the colours together,” he said. That creates a smooth surface with no brush marks, “and then I put the art on top of it after.”

His art is a sharing of cultural and spiritual beliefs. “I mostly want to share what I have. Share art. I’m proud of who I am, where I come from and I’m proud of my elders,” he said. And he hopes the connection goes both ways, that his ancestors will be “proud of what I do.”

Every artist puts a lot of him or herself into each work. But one painting in particular is a sort of self portrait for Daniels: Killer Whale. “My grandmother told me that we’re descendants from the killer whale. So she told me that if I ever see a killer whale out on the water, you never know, it might be one of your own relatives.”

Go to CVCAS.ca/news for a video interview of Daniels and more images of his art.

Killer Wale, a painting by Dion Daniels, makes a particularly important statement for him.

CraigSpenceWriter.ca