We would like to introduce people with a huge enthusiasm for art and design, who inspire others and move further the borders of the creative world. We bring you an interview with one of them - Daniel Innes.
Hi Daniel, firstly we would like to thank you for your time and willingness to share some things about yourself. For many Flame Painter users, you are better known as Dinnes. Can you tell us about yourself, your artistic background, and your inspiration?
I am a student living in New Zealand. I hope to one day become an architect, but I have many other hobbies; painting, drawing, music, sport, games. I have studied art in school for the past seven years, but I still have a lot to learn.
In general, my inspiration comes from nature and, to a certain extent, childhood memories. However, when it comes to flame painting, I find that the tool is an inspiration in itself.
It seems you often portray birds in your paintings. Can you tell us why?
For some reason, I have always been good at birds; so in that sense, I can’t tell you why. Perhaps it is because I enjoy depicting nature; maybe it is because of the large variety of exquisite native birds in my country. I really don’t know.
Do you paint from a photograph or from your mind? How long does it take you?
With most of my paintings, I paint from my mind, letting my imagination lead the way. Yet, for my bird paintings, I tend to use a picture to aid with capturing the bird’s details.
Depending on the complexity of the painting, one flame painting takes me anywhere between 2 minutes to 2 hours. My bird paintings take the longest because they involve a lot of undo's and layers. :)
I must say though, the result is always amazing. How do you like to work with Flame Painter and what tools do you use to create the paintings?
When I came across the Flame Painter, I was immediately captured by the way it intuitively creates beauty. Also, it is very handy not needing to clean up afterward! For my paintings I just use a mouse and a laptop; nothing fancy. I have a few brushes that I like to use, which I have uploaded to the brush gallery for everyone to use. I will often start with these but play around with the controls until I create an entirely new brush.
Where can people see your artworks?
Some of my flame paintings I published at Flame Painter Gallery and some of them are on my blog http://artflare.tumblr.com/. I do love to share my artwork because it is very satisfying to know other people appreciate my work.
You are a young and very talented artist. Who are you inspired by?
I have a lot of artists that I enjoy. I find a lot of my artist models online or in books. All of them reflect the style that interests me. They include Agnes Cecile, Lawrence Yang, Darren Waterston, Gregory Euclide, James Jean, Sage Vaughn, and Bill Hammond. All of these artists use a watercolour effect to create a subtle mixture of colour and atmosphere that I really like. I love to use colour to bring excitement to a painting and Flame Painter certainly provides that ability.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you and we all wish you all the best for your future and a lot of fresh creative ideas!
