DAN BUNEA’S RETURN TO HIS FIRST LOVE!
“I was born in May 1978, I lived near the mountains, until I turned 18, with a permanent fascination for drawing, painting and science, discovery. As a child my grandmother used to take me to church every Sunday, and while I was there I was completely focused on the painting, always wondering how they achieved the color and light effects. Romanian orthodox churches are painted beautifully in a byzantine style, unlike Western Europe’s catholic churches which aren’t painted on the inside. As a child, I was a very passionate about drawing, doing it for hours and hours. Then I lost contact with my first passion, being more focused towards engineering, especially software development and computers, which turned out to be great because it’s quite a good job to have.
I was 27 years old, when I could first go to Paris, because before we needed visas, the burning
fire of creativity was reignited at a massive level, when going around Paris’ museums. I discovered most of all Kandinsky. I became obsessed with painting, and in the end started to practice it myself.
It’s been a tremendous journey, learning and experiencing painting, in my favourite abstract style, full of color and light contrasts that I call living abstract paintings. I have people that know me and admire my work all over the world, for which I am hugely grateful, and I even have clients who have bought my paintings all over the world from USA and Canada, to France, UK, Switzerland, Romania etc. It’s a journey, I hope to take to being a full time artist, that can travel and paint around the world.”
Dan, welcome and thank you for accepting to participate in this project by answering the following questions:
No. 1) What is art to and for you? (Generally and personally)
Essentially, art is the ability, to purposely create beauty, an ability that only humans have. We create it, we enjoy it, we allow it to unite us, because it represents the ability to communicate above language. One the other hand, all single attempts to represent divinity has been trough art: architecture (temples, pyramids), poetry , music, drawings, paintings (Michelangelo’s meeting between God and Adam), sculpture (Greek god representations, Maya etc). We can say that for us humans the single most precious gift towards divinity has been expressed trough art, so art represents the way to it, the highest and most precious thing we can do.
Ultimately, art is joy, is for all of us, but differently from individual to individual, an immense source of energy and happiness. It takes us out of depression, cures and gives us new and exciting views to the world.
No. 2) What inspires you?
I get inspiration from everywhere.
-Nature: sunsets, sea, mountains, sunsets, clouds, dramatic weather.
– pure imagination and dreams
-images from TV, magazines, photography,
-painting (I watch grand master’s work, contemporary artist, learning a lot),
-music,
-architecture and sculpture (seeing deconstructivists such as Ghery or the works of Gaudi ).
Sometimes I inspire myself from my own paintings from the past. It’s just amazing how many sources of inspiration there can be.
No. 3) When you are painting, creating, where does it take you? Where does
your mind travel?
I call my paintings the gate of imagination (sounds better in Romanian, which is a Romanic language: “poarta imaginatiei”). I travel in an imaginary, world of color and lights, maybe best explained as the incredible images from space, that are sent to us from Hubble, with supernovas and . The fascination of light traveling and being stuck by space object reflecting it in different nuances. I float in this universe without gravity, in total harmony with everything. It is maybe a way to nirvana for me. Going there, I feel I should share this sensation through my paintings, and I try to create the gate through which the others should see the same wonders.
No. 4) Do you think painting, music and health are related and if so, how?
Everyone who had his heart broken, has felt amazing power of healing through music. Color on the other hand, is scientifically proven to influence mood.
When I get up in the morning, in that sensation of half sleep, half awake, it is such a wonderful feeling to see 2 of my paintings. I feel instantly energized, optimistic, confident, ready for any challenge.
No. 5) How do you feel when you are painting?
I feel completely disconnected, I feel energized, I am at a different level of sensibility, everything is more exaggerated, color and feeling come together on canvas. I go trough extreme experiences during my paintings, from utter reject, to the highest levels of dopamine, when I feel a good work has come out of my hands. It is an extraordinary experience, both at a mind level, as well, as a physical level. Often, I am covered in sweat after a painting session. Not the prettiest sight, but it just shows I am dedicated 100%.
No. 6) Do you identify with your subject and if so, on what level?
My painting is expressionism, it is not about the subject but about the feeling that transpires trough it. As I said before, I am in my painting, I am totally identifying with what I paint.
No. 7) Under what conditions do you work best?
When I paint I am completely detached, so I can work in any conditions. Many times after painting, I find lots of paint in my hair, and on things it should have never been painted. I prefer working at night, or on weekend mornings, usually with a big glass of wine nearby, and some music on the sound system. Sometimes, it’s jazz, sometimes it’s blues (some paintings have names from the songs I listened to when I painted them, for example: Once I had a woman, or Voodoo Chile of Jimi Hendrix are some) sometimes it’s rock, classical, drum’n’bass, electrornical, even folk. Sometimes, it’s just quiet.
No. 8) Does painting help you connect with your “higher self”, whatever that is
for you?
As I mentioned before, and from what is visible trough my paintings, I paint my feelings, and I try to transmit that to the watcher. In order to sign a painting, I must be absolutely enchanted by it at the time, so yes, painting is an activity where I feel in my nirvana, in my universe.
No. 9) How do you feel about creativity in the public school system?
I think that practicality shields children and teachers from pursuing creativity. First of all, there is the matter of numbers, having lots of children in a single class, makes it a lot harder for the teacher to see who has the potential to be creative. It is only the best (or loudest) that get noticed, but there may be many that need just a little bit of help. Then there’s the quality rules of the consumer society: it’s more important to be on par with the others and it’s very dangerous to be different, even when different may be a lot better. Last thing, is the teachers themselves. Are they stimulated to be creative, or forced to obey the strict rules?
No. 10) In your opinion, what could be a simple solution to improve creativity in the public school system?
Lack of clear purpose demotivates the children. What’s hard for the children is that things sometimes are too abstract, and too difficult to see how they would help. They don’t see the purpose in doing something, mainly on the long run. If our school system would go beyond the purpose to producing students with a diploma, creativity might be encouraged drastically.
Right now societies produce experts in different fields, that have to deal with their own fields of expertise, and on the side learn things like recycling, and saving our future on this planet or others. What if sustainability would become the purpose itself, wouldn’t this encourage the kids to become creative in their own fields of learning; wouldn’t future engineers be more focused on recycling what they do, use of less materials or electricity, wouldn’t future economists or lawyers see with different eyes figures about rain-forest, companies that do not protect the environment?
No. 11) What are you hoping to convey to the onlooker through you art?
A better day. Some optimism, and some energy to deal with his own challenges.
Dan, again thank you for sharing with us so generously your thoughts and feelings in this most interesting article. I wish you great success in all your endeavours and until we work together again, keep well and be blessed!
TO THE READER :
You are cordially invited to visit Dan’s links below to see more of his wonderful art. Your comments are most welcome, thank you so much, enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/user/danbunea?feature=mhee
Dan is also on Facebook and Art Majeur!
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Comments
I’d love to see Dan actually painting on YouTube like some of the speed painting to watch the progression of a painting from blank canvas to finished product. You’re art is amazing conveying many emotions, passion and a seemingly effortless ability to express your daunting lifeforce through art. Thanks for posting your work on YouTube. Nam myoho renge kyo, Lili
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