Artist based in New York, NY
Dana Schein, portrait of the artist
Tell us about yourself, what's your background?
I grew up in NYC and was working as a graphic designer at MoMA when I decided to become a painter and apply for an MFA. I didn't know what I wanted to paint or what my "style" would be, but as I began to make work each painting seemed to inform the decisions for the next painting.
"I tend to create story lines with my own characters as I'm drawing out a composition. I think about a potential narrative or dramatic scene I want to convey and the larger themes that I'm interested in communicating."
A sketchbook drawing
What are you currently working on and where did the inspiration for it come from?
I'm making a new series of paintings and also thinking about the potential for printmaking in my practice. I have always loved the Social Realists, but lately I am looking at medieval and early Renaissance art for its uses of flattening and narrative.
Plankwalk, 2022, Oil on Canvas, 72"x60"
Innovation does not only happen in the field of technology — it occurs everyday in a creative practice. What do you do for inspiration?
Music plays a big role in my work, both visually and in the studio. I tend to hop between playing piano, working on paintings for a while, then picking up a guitar or banjo and then back to painting. I really enjoy observing the ways other artists think and solve problems. If I'm really stuck, a museum trip with a friend always motivates me to paint again.
Kishkes, 2022, Oil on Canvas, 40"x34"
Describe your practice and process. Where do ideas start for you? In the studio or being in the world?
I tend to create story lines with my own characters as I'm drawing out a composition. I think about a potential narrative or dramatic scene I want to convey and the larger themes that I'm interested in communicating. In my daily life I'm always quietly observing, especially in crowded places like the subway. I'm very interested in people and their inner worlds.
I tend to start with a warm underpainting through a subtractive process, then build with color (studio view)
How do you make your work, does it start with a sketch?
Sometimes an image will happen spontaneously and other times it will be more planned. I really like figurative work from the WPA era of artists as well as German expressionists. I also love cartoons for their economy of line and ability to convey gesture and emotions efficiently. I'm not very attached to one style or method of making work. I tend to experiment and try new things.
Graceful Ghost Rag, 2022, Oil on canvas, 60"x48" (photo credit Alli Miller at Harpers Gallery)
Many artists live by their routines, what does that look like for you?
I bounce around between various things in the studio and do not have one routine. Lately I have been working in silence and not noticing the hours going by.
Studio view
Who are your biggest influences?
Ben Shahn, Jack Levine, Max Beckmann, Philip Guston
Are there books or films that are an important source of inspiration?
There's a Harold Lloyd film called "Safety Last" that portrays a kind of slapstick choreography I'm often thinking about when representing figures. I also like the overhead angles of Hitchcock films. It's funny to admit, but I love Pixar films for their tonality and ability to convey melancholic sentimentality.
Lately I've been making work referring to passages in the Book of Psalms. I'm becoming more interested in spiritual themes and visual metaphors.
Wrestling With an Angel, 2023, Oil on Canvas, 40"x34"
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Sometimes the part of a composition that is omitted outside the edges of the canvas is as interesting as the visual information on the canvas.
What is the best advice you would give to other artists?
If something in the painting isn't working, the solution is often to simplify.
36 Paintings, Harper's, East Hampton, NY, credit: Harper's Gallery
Stay up to date with Dana Schein
Website danaschein.com
Instagram @scheinonme