Daniel Kelly (b. 1947) is an American painter, printmaker, and multi-media artist who lives and works in Kyoto, Japan. He was born in Idaho Falls, ID, and grew up in Great Falls MT. Daniel has had an interest in art from a young age. He remembers his first exposure to art was when he saw paintings by C.M. Russell of cowboys and the great American West while walking past a display in the windows of the artist’s studio. Daniel also remembers seeing some of Russell’s earlier paintings in the local children’s library and noticing how rough that they looked. This caused him to think to himself,
“I can do this. Art isn’t this big holy thing.”
It wasn’t until graduate school, at the University of University of Oregon’s Portland State University that he was able to pursue a formal art education, studying glassblowing and ceramics. After graduate school, while in San Francisco, Daniel bought a book about Japanese art woodblock prints by Tomikichirō Tokuriki at City Lights Bookstore for $1.95. In the back of the book was a note that said,
“If you’re ever in Kyoto, we invite you to visit the artist’s studio.”
This was a pivotal moment in Daniel’s career. From that moment, he knew that he wanted to go to Japan and study woodblock printing. After traveling to Kyoto, meeting Tokuriki, and showing him slides of his work, Tokuriki agreed to take on Daniel as an apprentice for a period of 5 – 7 years. Daniel saw this as an incredible opportunity to grow as an artist and decided to pursue it for as long as he could.
Since studying with Tokuriki, Daniel’s woodblock prints and paintings have been collected by numerous private collections and institutions around the world. His works are a part of the Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and the British Museum.
