Bio
Daniel Petrov has produced a large and consistent body of artwork. His paintings are executed in oil and acrylic and his drawings in pencil, acrylic and ink. Fascinated with the human figure, Daniel has developed a dynamic and sensuous visual idiom. He strives less for realism than emotional acuity. Characteristic are his long, fervent brush strokes and a penchant for vivid colors, whimsical gestures and heightened expressions.
Daniel was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Munich, Germany. He studied painting and filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. Upon graduation he moved to New York City, where for twelve years he worked as a cameraman, shooting television news stories and documentaries for international broadcasters. With an ever-growing output of art, Daniel began pursuing a life as an artist. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows across the US. After settling in the Tampa Bay area, Daniel began to expand his creative activities. He worked on a diverse range of art, illustration, graphic design, advertising, logo, and branding projects. He also taught expressive figure painting classes for adults and kids, wrote articles on contemporary art, headed the education department at an art center, and managed visual communications for a humanitarian startup. Daniel is married to Japanese artist Yumiko Petrov with whom he has two children.
Artist Statement
People are my preferred motif. I paint people who stimulate me, forceful personalities. I also frequently portray myself. Painting a single portrait of a subject doesn’t satisfy me. Usually I produce an extensive series, examining various nuances in manner and mood. Ultimately I depict emotional states. Those of my subjects as well as my own.
I work from life or from photographs. I direct my subjects when I have a specific gestural geometry in mind. Otherwise I allow them to freely act out their impulses, to disclose a persona of their own choice, whether “true” or affected. My method combines discipline with abandon, finesse with physicality. First, I patiently outline the figure. Then, in a rapid onslaught of slashes and strokes, I let my instincts command my brush. The figure is usually alone and tightly cropped. It is either set against an abstract background or surrounded by plants or animals. These too have distinct personalities. Occasionally I include symbolic accessories.
Some of my paintings are aesthetically pleasing and some provocative. On one extreme are my urban psychological portraits. There’s a certain drama and grotesquerie in these works, a relish for exaggerated poses, twisted limbs and grimaces. They rely on light-dark contrasts, so the hues are somewhat muted. The brushwork is thick, vigorous and expressive. My tropical nudes, on the other extreme, are gentle and graceful with their elongated fingers and necks. They’re painted more sparingly in bright, exuberant color harmonies that radiate joy and warmth. I am not insensitive to beauty, as illusory as it may be.
