VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

WHEREVER DANIEL H. IS, THAT’S WHERE HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE

PHOTO AND STORY BY HANNAH HERNER

Daniel H. has an uncanny memory. He remembers each person he crosses paths with, what they said to him, what they’ve given him, who has bought his art, what he’s given to others. There are countless stories filed in his brain.

“I always remember the people who look out for me,” he says. “And even if they don't, I see that they did something for someone else. That's what I do. I make sure that I'll never forget them because that's what people are supposed to be about. That's what this paper gives you a chance to do, is an opportunity to meet people and to grow with them.”

At The Contributor, Daniel is known for his artwork. He’s an active part of the nonprofit artist community Daybreak Arts. He’s completed around 110 works of art, and is working toward 500, to get to master level. Originally from Baltimore, Md., he started drawing as a child, portraits of his television idols. His mother used to refer to

him as a “walking TV guide.” His favorites were I Love Lucy, Lost in Space and if he was lucky and got to stay up late, Hawaii Five-0.

Over time, he graduated from portraits of people to landscapes, and then from drawing to painting. Acrylic paint is his favorite, because you can make mistakes and paint over it.

Through his art, he hopes to introduce people to things they’ve never seen before. He’s drawn snow in the Sahara desert, a ship that wrecked and was never found. He remembers pieces of folklore or poems that will inspire his paintings. A recent project that he’s excited about is an imagining of an Egyptian Queen whose tomb was found recently. He loves when real historic events entwine with his drawing, and is very interested in ancient Rome and ancient Greece. With all of this, he tries to draw attention to women in history.

“I usually portray women artists, because they're not known, not

Daniel H., is an artist with Daybreak Arts and writes poetry and stories for The Contributor. Find some of his previously published work on Page 21.

well sought out in the world. So I don't try to do it about myself, I try to do about other people,” Daniel says. “Trying to bring out stories or people that are not known or just something interesting, something that someone doesn't get to see everyday in their life.”

Daniel grew up in a tight-knit community with his adopted parents, in a town called Kill Devil Hills, in North Carolina. He spent a lot of time at his father’s bowling alley. It was the kind of community where kids could have meals and stay the night at neighbors houses interchangeably. Neighbors took care of his mother in shifts when she fell ill with cancer, too. He looked for a community like that in his adult life, and seeks out opportunities to help people.

“It wasn't really a community of individual homes for people. It was actually a community of a family. So our whole neighborhood worked together to help each other out.” he says. “My mother raised me with good values, and she said, ‘look at the people around you. Assess their needs.’ She says, ‘your needs don't always come first.’”

Daniel loves television and movies. On the screen, he likes to see teams working together, close friends. He says one example is NCIS.

“I love the show because they're like a family,” he says. “They know each other so intimately that they can, literally walk in a you know, they know what they will eat that day they know where they go to, they know where they smoke, they know where they drink. And it's like, you don't meet people like that. So that's why I like these type of shows.”

Daniel sells The Contributor near the Kroger at Greenfield and Gallatin Pike. He likes this spot because people can pull over and talk for a while. He has lots of detailed stories to tell, if given the time.

“I don't consider this a job, I consider this like a family,” he says. “And I think that's one of the most important things that can be said. We establish ourselves with the community, to branch out who we are, and to learn from other people, not them learning from me, but me learning from them, because they have so much valued information.”

Daniel says that pointing a finger to a map with his eyes closed is what made him decide to come to Nashville. His faith is strong that he’s where he’s meant to be and crossing paths with who he’s meant to at any given time.

“God put me here. In the course of my life, whatever I find along the road, whatever it is that comes up, is where I'm at, is where I'm supposed to be.” Daniel says. “Like, right here.”