The Journey of Dan Stone, and His Impact within the Atlanta Creative Scene

::: Photos Courtesy of Dan Stone :::

Like many things we experience in life, art is a quest. It is a continuous exploration of inspiration, celebration, and style. Art exemplifies the human experience. Art encompasses all of our hardships, excitement, grace, decisions, love, fear, and any emotion that you can think of. In essence every aspect of humanity can be expressed through art.

Dan Stone is an acclaimed artist in South Atlanta who has created vibrant compositions that compel you to stop and have a deep intellectual thought of what you’re witnessing. His paintings are a visual journey of the everyday experience in Atlanta which can be a compilation of euphoria, self-examination, and vulnerability throughout. 

   Born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts Dan went to school at Montserrat College of Art where he received a degree in interdisciplinary studies. In college he learned various styles of art and creative work. His repertoire ranges from graphic design, expressionism, abstract, and has had murals commissioned throughout the city of Atlanta.

   With so many intersecting ideas to his grand vision, Dan has a plethora of innovative plans to put into motion and is a positive force here in Atlanta. It is illuminative seeing Dan’s attempts to bring his vision together, as he manifests his thoughts and emotions into reality. The beauty of it all is that he is doing this not for himself, but for the larger community of Atlanta.
South Atlanta Magazine spoke to Dan about his perspective of art, the world and how they coincide with one another and how he hopes to inspire a sense of awe and wonder for artists. 

   Dan believes that the importance of his work should extend beyond his individual art pieces. Instead he wants to leverage his talents to bring together all artists throughout Atlanta to cultivate a safe space for collaboration and creation. He believes that the importance of his work “to not pigeonhole artists but to allow artists to fully express themselves which will bring about a therapeutic and liberating experience for them.”    

Q: What was the catalyst or sparking point where you realized that you wanted to dedicate your life to art and bring other artists along your journey? 

   Early in high school I began to realize how gratifying it was to create and make my own things. During that time of my life I would disassociate often, and that is when I began to learn that I can  communicate and connect with people through my art.

   As I began branching out and getting to know other artists, I saw that their life experience was very similar to mine. That’s what led me to want to bring artists together, because I enjoy seeing people grow around me, and more importantly seeing us create our own realities through our artistic expression.

Q: Before you decided to dedicate your life to your artistry did you have any other job aspirations as a child, or was art always your main focus? 

   Truthfully, art has always been my main thing. I have always enjoyed building and creating things, at the age of seven I was building small forts in the woods and I have been drawing since four. The most magnificent part is that art runs in my family and my dad showed me a lot of support. My uncle Bob is also an artist and as I grew into my craft I would lean on him for guidance and tutor and then realizing that this can be a lifestyle for me.

   Although I had support from my family, society and the world I lived in was not so supportive. There were times in highschool where I would face continuous pushback because of my passion for art, but my art made me happy and it benefitted me and for that there was no way I would stop. 

Q: You have a great eye for art and you’re exceptionally talented at what you do. What is a dream project that you would want to put together and if you could work on that dream project with 3 other artists dead or alive who would be on your team? 

   Wow that is an amazing question no one has asked me that before. Right now I am currently obsessed with the idea of writing and directing a comedy series. Something that is unorthodox and weird, and for it to be loosely based on and inspired by my life’s journey. The three artists that I would love to work with in this project are Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Arnett, and Atlanta’s very own Donald Glover. 

Q: Any inspiring words for readers, fans, or creatives? 

   Don’t tell people how awesome you are, show them how awesome you are. As the slogan for my business goes, say less and create more.