Artist Statement: For decades I have been painting scenes from around Arkansas. With this show, I continue to explore scenes from my home state but with a few small changes in perspective. In some of these paintings I take a closer look, revealing the fascinating details of the bits and pieces of the landscape. I don’t use a microscope but I’ve even begun to examine water in the creeks around me, the bark on trees, even the patterns in a dove’s feathers. I haven’t gone completely abstract with these paintings but I am way more interested in color than I have been before. We live in a beautiful place and it’s worth looking as closely as possible. These paintings are a result of me being in a “state” of observation that is new and fresh for me.—Daniel, March 2023