Dan Swan – Cooler Than You
This month we chat to local artist Dan Swan, who is in love with capturing the male form and also teaches art classes in Brighton.
How would you describe your style and what inspires you? I describe my style as unfinished figurative with a touch of abstraction. My paintings often seem ‘incomplete’ traditionally speaking because I like involving the viewer in the understanding of what is there, filling in the blanks. It is figurative because it is representational of a subject (a body, an animal…), yet it has a touch of abstraction because it is not aiming to be photorealistic.
Portraiture is a passion. What do you look for in a subject and how do you capture their essence? A natural expression or pose that represents who the person actually is. Most people when they commission a portrait like to submit selfies, which I personally do not like much. They look somewhat unnatural to me when turned into paintings. I want a mocking look if that is who you are, sad eyes if this is what I feel represents your mood at the time of the painting, the subject dancing freely if they are a dancer, etc.
You’ve discussed male form and societal reactions to it – how important is it to you to challenge traditional portrayals of masculinity through art? Very: I have always struggled with the box in which I have been put through my life just because I am a man (not showing your feelings, not being ‘acceptable’ to like this or that…). I am comfortable being a man, but I have other sides to me that do not fit into that traditional role model, and that’s OK. I want others who feel like that to be encouraged to show other sides they probably have been made to feel have to act in a certain way.
You regularly host art classes, where can people find you to take part? We hold them at Legends Brighton every Wednesday 18:30–20:30. We focus on a different thing every month and you can just turn up to the lessons.
Tell us three things you love the most about living in Brighton? The people, the architecture, the beach.
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