Daniel Parker (artist)
Daniel Parker | |
---|---|
Black Mesa Mulies; The Watcher; Brooks Falls | |
Movement | Animalier school (modern) |
Spouse | Jeanne Drollinger |
Children | Joshua, Shannon, Lindsey |
Patron(s) | Jack Nicklaus; Robert A. Funk |
Website | ParkerBronze.com |
Daniel Ray Parker (born November 18, 1959) is an American wildlife sculptor and painter. Parker has won multiple awards for wildlife sculpture at major art shows in the United States. He is a resident of Kalispell, Montana.
Early life
Parker was born on November 18, 1959, in Portland, Oregon. He is the son of Donald Edward "Don" Parker (1938–2015) and Joan Arlue Sievers (1939-2019). The Parkers had moved to Portland in early 1959 from Kalispell, Montana, to find work but after less than a year in Oregon they moved back to Kalispell, their home town. Parker's great grandfather, originally from Norridgewock, Maine, had moved to the Flathead Valley in 1905 from Parker, Minnesota, to homestead on a farm on the Flathead River, near Demersville, about five miles south of Kalispell and two miles north of Flathead Lake.
Parker's father, who by 1963 was an aspiring
Parker's mother would remarry three times, first in a short-lived 1967 marriage to Harold Schiele—a Ronan, Montana, carpenter—and followed that unsuccessful union by tying the knot in 1969 with Leo Arbuckle, a logger from Coram, Montana. Her final marriage came in 1975 to Herbert "Sonny" Strong, a used car salesman—son of the noted golf course architect Herbert B. Strong—who had moved to Kalispell in 1971 from Fort Pierce, Florida. Strong, who was a hunting enthusiast, taught Daniel the fundamentals of deer and elk hunting, an activity he would continue to enjoy.
In 1975, during school summer vacation, he took a job as an apprentice
Marriage and later life
In the winter of 1981 Parker met his future wife, Jeanne Drollinger, at the Blue Moon nightclub in
Parker maintains a busy show schedule, attending the Safari Club International show in Nevada annually. His most important art show each year is the annual C. M. Russell Art Show, now called "The Russell", in Great Falls, Montana, held in March. In addition to scheduled shows, he often takes on commissioned projects as well.
Sculpting career
Early career
By virtue of his natural abilities and dogged, unrelenting self-determination, Parker taught himself how to sculpt and paint, although he didn't take up painting seriously until he was in his late 40s when he got a few informal personal painting lessons from his friend Don Oelze, a New Zealand-born master painter of Native American genre subjects.[5] Parker was inspired in his pursuit of a career in art by witnessing the successful careers of fellow Kalispell artists Ace Powell, Frank Hagel, Mark Ogle, and others.
Parker was an average student in school, generally receiving "C" grades, but he always excelled in art, his favorite subject. While attending an art class in 1977 at Flathead High School taught by Frank DiVita,[6] who in his spare time from teaching was an accomplished bird sculptor,[7] Parker received encouragement from DiVita who suggested that he try his hand at sculpture. The suggestion was taken up by Parker who produced his first sculpture, a fired clay bighorn sheep. It was a miniature statue cast in pewter, only about three inches long and an inch high, but the nascent start would later blossom into a successful career as a wildlife sculptor.
In 1983, Parker began to sculpt his first series of sculptures for public sale. The edition, which he called the "North American Collection",[8] included sculptures of twelve different North American big game animals. At first he hired the Kalispell Art Casting Foundry to cast his work in bronze. By 1989, however, Parker had set up his own foundry so that the casting and patina process could be more carefully monitored. His bronze sculptures have all been cast using the lost wax method and the foundry is still in operation today.
Artistic style
Parker's sculpting style can best be described as "realism" in the sense that he wants his finished product to look exactly like the wild animal would appear in its natural environment. His sculptures convey the animals' natural stances and movements, never appearing frozen unless that is his specific intent as in the case of a deer, for example, standing still. In essence, Parker is a modern-day animalier sculptor. His sculptures always feature close attention to proper anatomical detail.[4]
Success with Members Only
In 1997 Parker created what has proven to be his most successful sculpture, a 49-piece limited edition table sculpture called Members Only which is now sold out. The sculpture features three Kodiak grizzly bears fishing for salmon. An oval-shaped glass top represents the surface of the water in which the bears are catching salmon.
The Members Only sculpture won the 1997 Ralph "Tuffy" Berg Award at the C. M. Russell Art Show (now known as "The Russell")[9] in Great Falls, Montana, given to the best new artist of the year.[10]
Patrons
Jack Nicklaus
In 1998, Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara purchased Parker's Members Only grizzly bear sculpture which had been for sale in the Western Wildlife Gallery in San Francisco.[10] Later, in 2003, Nicklaus would add another bronze sculpture by Parker called Elk Horn Mountain to his collection.
Robert A. Funk
While on a hunting trip in 1989 at Taylor Ranch in Colorado, Parker met Oklahoma City businessman Robert A. Funk. After Funk discovered that Parker was a wildlife artist, he asked Parker if he had any examples of his work to show him. It just so happened that the artist had an elk bust sculpture called Perfection in his truck and, after showing it to Funk, a sale was consummated on the spot for the sculpture. Parker would meet Funk again at the C. M. Russell Art Show in 1999 and some years later he suggested to Funk that he could design a sculpture of a Clydesdale horse to be given as an award to exemplary employees of Funk's Express Employment Professionals company in Oklahoma City. A deal was struck between the two that resulted in Parker casting a now sold out 50-piece edition called Express Ranch Clydesdale.[11] Over time, Funk has added several more Parker sculptures to his collection, including a monumental bronze elk sculpture for the entrance to his New Mexico ranch.
Monumental sculptures
Parker has created a number of
Dispute with the City of Kalispell
In 2007, Parker entered into a contract with the City of Kalispell to produce and deliver a monumental bronze
Parker filed suit in District Court in July 2011 claiming breach of contract. Eventually, in May 2013, a settlement agreement was reached whereby Parker reimbursed the City of Kalispell $5,000 of their initial down payment.[17] Jane Howington, who was the Kalispell City Manager in November 2010, said of the sculpture contract with Parker, "using that type of money for that type of discretionary thing is not, in my view, appropriate."[16] The City of Kalispell took the position that an art project of this type should not be funded with taxpayer dollars.[16] Howington stated that she generally supported public art but believed putting a large statue at the corners of an intersection could be a safety hazard, blocking the views of drivers.[16]
Awards
(Sources) [4]
- 1997 Ralph "Tuffy" Berg Award at the C. M. Russell Art Show (now known as "The Russell")[9] in Great Falls, Montana, for the best new artist of the year.[10]
- 1998 People's Choice Best Sculpture Award at the C. M. Russell Art Show for the table sculpture Brooks Falls.
- 1998 People's Choice Award at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Bennington, Vermont, for the table sculpture The Watcher.
- 1998 Best Sculpture Award at the Wild Wings Art Show in Lake City, Minnesota, for the sculpture Southfork Crossing.
- 1999 Sculpture Artist of the Year Award from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
- 1999 People's Choice Best Sculpture Award at the C. M. Russell Art Show.
- 1999 Artist Award at the Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont, for the elephant table sculpture Sweet Talk.
- 2000 Viewer's Favorite Award at the Great Plains Show at the Museum of Nebraska Art.
- 2004 People's Choice Best Sculpture Award at the C. M. Russell Art Show for the bear table sculpture Grizzly Falls.
- 2008 Best of Show (New Artist) at the Calgary Stampede Western Art Sales Salon.
References
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Divorce". The Daily Inter Lake. October 11, 1962. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Summons for Publication: Joan A. Parker, Plaintiff vs. Donald E. Parker, Defendant". The Daily Inter Lake. November 3, 1961. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Daniel Parker". Coeur d' Alene Galleries. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ISBN 9780889954755. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ "Artist Bio – Frank Di Vita". FrankDiVita.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- ^ "Frank DiVita". thesylvangallery.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- ^ "North American Collection". parkerbronze.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ a b "Inaugural Success." Western Art Collector. May 2010, p. 142.
- ^ a b c d "Daniel Parker". cogswellgallery.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ "Busts". parkerbronze.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ "The Hibernation Station, West Yellowstone". hotels.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ "Art in the Park". riverparks.org. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ "Monuments". parkerbronze.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ Stang, John (December 5, 2007). "Sculptor captures Montana moment". Indian Country News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Testa, Dan (November 4, 2010). "Sculptor Threatens to Sue Kalispell". The Flathead Beacon. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ "City of Kalispell – Memorandum" (PDF). Kalispell.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2015.