Memory in 20/20 — Daniel Coston Art

Artist Statement: My work is bound up in memory. Some paintings are specifically my memories, of places, usually. Others remind me of something that I have seen or lived through. In this show there is a painting of my grandparents old barn where I played as a kid. I climbed up into that loft and played on bails of hay and ducked wasps. I remember fields of cotton from my youth and the 1980’s in southeast Arkansas and so when we found a field of cotton near Tucker in 2019 I wanted to paint that scene. On the same trip we saw skeins on geese flying over flooded fields and that reminded me of similar scenes I remember from my time living in Dermott, Arkansas.

I remember corn growing in my grandparents garden and walking in among the rows of corn. My “corn scenes” in this show are actually from Delaware but I remember Arkansas corn fields from my youth. I remember my Grandfather walking among his cows, saying, “Sook, sook. Sook, sook.” (Not sure what he was saying.) So when a friend sent me photos of some striking cows from a ranch in Texas they became my memories of cows. A trip to Golden, Colorado gave me a ancient cedar tree coiled up like a dragon. Maybe it’s a symbol of some science fiction/fantasy story I read as a kid. Or part of a memory I don’t fully remember.

One painting shows a man standing in front of his Model T Ford. I’m pretty sure this is a photo taken somewhere in northwest Arkansas. It stands in for my memories of all those folks and cars I remember as a kid growing up in south Arkansas. Dust on the running boards. Creaking, squeaking doors and no colorful colors. I wish I had a photo of my grandfather and his 1950s truck. Which is one reason I paint things like this.

You have to make do with what you have. Human memory is not 20/20. Even a visceral, deeply emotional memory is not perfect. A photograph is not the actual event. Most of my memories are kinda fuzzy. A few are sharper but never good enough. So I keep looking for photos that remind me of my past. I make do with what I have.—Daniel, November 2020

Golden Dragon

Sentinel

Golden Corn

Two Rural Ladies

Two Rural Ladies

Exploded View

Fading Away

Haney Cathedral

Haney Cathedral

Power Lines

High Cotton

Looking for Shiners

Looking for Shiners

Hanging out on Ten Mile Creek

Hanging out on Ten Mile Creek

Heading for the Future

Heading for the Future

Off Kilter

Flooded Field

Spring on Top

Gravity at Work

Gravity at Work

Snaggle-tooth Corn

Snaggle-tooth Corn

Old Faithful

Shining the Blues

Shining the Blues

Pokeberry Heart

Pokeberry Heart

Japonica

Electrified

Backgate

Golden Dragon

Golden Dragon

Sentinel

Sentinel

Golden Corn

Golden Corn

Two Rural Ladies

Two Rural Ladies

Exploded View

Exploded ViewSold

Fading Away

Fading Away

Haney Cathedral

Haney CathedralSold

Power Lines

Power Lines

High Cotton

High Cotton

Looking for Shiners

Looking for Shiners

Hanging out on Ten Mile Creek

Hanging out on Ten Mile Creek

Heading for the Future

Heading for the FutureSold

Off Kilter

Off KilterSold

Flooded Field

Flooded Field

Spring on Top

Spring on TopSold

Gravity at Work

Gravity at Work

Snaggle-tooth Corn

Snaggle-tooth Corn

Old Faithful

Old FaithfulSold

Shining the Blues

Shining the BluesSold

Pokeberry Heart

Pokeberry Heartsold

Japonica

JaponicaSold

Electrified

ElectrifiedSold

Backgate

BackgateSold

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