To muralist Dan Black, a blank wall is a canvas waiting to be turned into a window to his imagination.
“Public art is always a gift,” the Denton artist said. “People are allowed to appreciate it who didn’t have to pay for it.” Black estimates he's painted over a hundred murals since 2008.
Drive around Denton and you'll spot his work; There’s the two-story, musical motorcyclist painting that adorns the building that once house Andy's bar, The intergalactic lightning storm in a '90s retro style wraps the Free Play arcade, and of course, the “Foundation of Our History” mural that sits beneath a railway underpass on Robertson Street and Bell Avenue.
“I think communities are shaped by what they look at every day,” Black said. And he wants to ensure that Denton residents have a diverse range of public art to appreciate.
Each piece Black crafts represents a personal journey of discovery, human connection and learning. The artist said he's always striving to learn new skills.
“This year, I’d like to learn bronze casting,” he said, holding up a small bust he recently sculpted.
But his artistic through line comes from the pieces that place him onto a lift 50 feet above the ground, making work 100 times his size.
Black’s latest commissioned mural will become part of the not-yet-opened, Nevermore Tavern, an Edgar Allen Poe themed-bar slated to open in Old Town Lewisville.
The KERA ArtsDoc series is a biweekly program featuring artists working in North Texas. Find us on YouTube.
