Dayton Metro Library ReImagining Works art commission

Posted on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 by cleary

I have some exciting news. I am honored to be one of five artists to be selected to create new works of art for the Wilmington-Stroop branch library. My piece will be a large scale triptych photograph based on Charles Kettering and Edward Deeds life long relationship. This area of Kettering had for many years one of Delco’s manufacturing plants which was founded by Kettering and Deeds. The background image is the Deeds Barn where Kettering and associates created some of their first inventions. I want to say Thank You to the Dayton Metro Library Reimagining Works committee for the commission. The finished piece is 10 feet x 5 feet and will be in the community meeting room. Here is a copy of my sketch. I will keep you informed to my progress and let you see the final piece when I’m finished.

FIVE ARTISTS COMMISSIONED FOR NEW
WILMINGTON-STROOP BRANCH LIBRARY
IN KETTERING
(September 14, 2017) — The Dayton Metro Library has selected five proposals for artwork in the new Wilmington-Stroop Branch in Kettering. These are the latest commissions in the ReImagining Works project, which places new, original artwork in each Dayton Metro Library location.
ReImagining Works invites artists to use pieces from the Dayton Art Institute’s permanent collection as inspiration for reimagined artwork at the new or newly remodeled Libraries. The project is made possible by an anonymous bequest.
For the Wilmington-Stroop Branch Library, two pieces from the DAI collection, selected by popular vote, serve as inspiration: Red Circle, an oil painting by Dwinell Grant, and the cut glass piece Bold Endeavor by Jon Kuhn. Five artists received commissions, including two who will create a work together. The artists are:
Suzanne Ley and Susan Cannon, Springboro – working together to create a large mixed-media piece combining layers of paint with three superimposed fused glass panels. The composition will be based on the satellite image of the Library’s location at the intersection of Wilmington and Stroop Roads. The geometry of the intersecting lines and angles inspires the painting and glass composition, and reflects both inspiration works.
Brent Beck, Dayton – will create a large work composed of painted, shaped wood panels that relate to the modern geometric architecture of the Library and mimic the intersection of planes, lines and shapes seen in Bold Endeavor by Jon Kuhn. This colorful work will be layered, creating a sense of depth and an energetic rhythm.
Paula Kraus, Dayton – proposes five framed inkjet prints on rice paper created from photographs in which she isolates and distills light, color and shape to achieve compositions of pure geometry, inspired by the non-objective work of Dwinell Grant. The rice paper will be treated with encaustic, a beeswax, to create a translucency that references the glass work by Jon Kuhn.
Dan Cleary, Dayton – will produce a triptych of large photographs to create the sense of a mural. Focusing on the historical relationship between Charles Kettering and Edward Deeds, Cleary will combine historic photos and contemporary color images, along with patent drawings of Kettering’s inventions. Deeds Barn provides the focal point of the narrative anchoring the various overlaid images and reflecting the shape and layers in the inspiration piece Bold Endeavor, by Jon Kuhn.

Design work is underway for a new, larger Wilmington-Stroop Branch Library. The current building will be demolished and rebuilt in a more visible position at the corner of Wilmington Pike and Stroop Road, with improved access to parking. Construction is slated to begin in early 2018 and be finished in about one year.
For more information on ReImagining Works or the facilities improvement projects, visit DaytonMetroLibrary.org.

Local Art Work For Display In Your Office

Posted on August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 by cleary

I want to say "Thank You" to the Kettering Health Network for purchasing three more photographs for display in their Dayton Cardio office. That makes number 108, 109 & 110 that they have put up in buildings in Dayton, Tipp City, Springboro and Englewood. I have put photographs in three of their new and three offices that they were remodeling. Using high quality fine art photography of the local area is a great way to decorate your building. I spend time photograph in the Montgomery, Greene and Warren county area creating art work that looks familiar to the clients who come in to your office. This is art work that has a comfortable feeling and is also locally based. I have many of these photographs on my web site at Dan Cleary Fine Art Photogarphy. Dan has these and many more. Dan can also go out and create new photographs just for you. Call Dan to talk about your project.

Wright Brothers Fine Art Photographs

Posted on April 18, 2017April 18, 2017 by cleary

I have always been interested in history. I read the biography of the Wright Brothers by David McCullough. In it he wrote of the Wright Brothers purchasing an expensive, "modern," glass plate camera in order to document their experiment with flight. It dawned on me that the Wright Brothers, among all their talents, were photographers, as well. I am a native Daytonian yet I had never been out to Huffman Prairie where the Wrights had completed most of their experiments with flight. So I packed up and went out there with my camera and took a few photographs.

I did some research and spent some time looking at their images and realized that not much had really changed in the landscape at Huffman Prairie in all these many years. In fact, there was one image of the Flyer in the air that seemed to fit perfectly into one of my own photographs. My interests in history lead me to wonder how the city of Dayton looked 100 years ago and how the images of the past related to the present. This project is a combination of the history of 100 years ago with today.

The first photograph I created in my Wright Brothers series was the Amos Root quote image. It’s a photograph of the catapult the Wright Brothers built to propel their machine up to speed quickly out at Huffman Prairie. After I looked at the images I created I started looking at other images the Wright’s had made and found the image of the plane flying at Huffman Prairie. Using PhotoShop I combined the two images so that the horizons lines up. The image I found the image of the plane on the internet and I thought my final image was very successful. The only problem was the Wright’s image was a low resolution internet image. So I started doing some research and found that both the Library of Congress and Wright State University library had scanned many of the Wright Brothers original prints and negative in high resolution. I contacted Wright State University and they allow me to obtain the images I need directly from them. I am also able to download high rez original scans from the Library of Congress.

My first trip out to Huffman Prairie was in the winter of 2015. I did research on both Wright State library and the Library of Congresses web site and knew what images were there so last summer my wife and I went Kitty Hawk, South Carolina to visit the National Park. While there I created many photographs that I could use with Wright Brothers photographs. One of the Wright Brothers other attributes was they were prolific writers. They both keep detailed journals. The Library of Congress have scanned their journals and Wright State Uni library has many original journals which is where I get the quotes included in each piece. I also get the quote from a couple books I have read including David MaCullough’s auto-biography of the Wright Brothers.

Black & White Fine Arts Photograph of Downtown Dayton

Posted on November 1, 2014November 1, 2014 by cleary

Day five of the black and white photo challenge. I started a new series of black & white photos this fall that takes me back about 30 years to doing some street photography. The idea is to find urban landscapes and include include part of the downtown high rise buildings in the shot. I went to the Korean War memorial which is across the river from downtown Dayton. I took a few photographs at various places when this young boy started running laps around the park. I timed this photograph as he ran though the frame.

Black & White photograph at Weslyan Dayton Metro Park, Dayton, Ohio

Posted on October 31, 2014November 1, 2014 by cleary

Day four of my black & white photo challenge. I made this photograph two years ago right after Christmas. We had about eight inches of snow and then a high pressure system came in so there was a beautiful blue sky. Normally in Ohio in the winter the sky is a gloomy sort of gray. I went to Wesleyan MetroPark which is small park close to downtown Dayton. There are three small rivers that converge at downtown Dayton and the river that goes through Weslyan MetroPark is called the Wolf Creek. I made many really good photographs that day but this is the best black & white photograph.

Black & White photograph at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio

Posted on October 29, 2014November 1, 2014 by cleary

Day two of the Black & White professional photography challenge. This photograph was taken at sunrise at the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio. It was a very foggy morning in September. I pulled up the gravel road and saw these trees with the sun rising from the behind them. I have driven back to this location during the day and I can’t imagine the photograph because it’s just a field with a few skinny trees.

Fine Art Photographs for Home and Office

Posted on January 10, 2014April 22, 2014 by cleary

I just received an email from Amy at the Rosewood Art Gallery in Kettering. I got one of my photographs in the Works On Paper show for this year. I’m very excited. They chose one of my photographs from the Grasses In Winter Snow series. I shot the the photographs last winter and they turned out great. There are about ten photographs in this series. We had about eight inches of snow which isn’t that unusual for Ohio but then we had perfect blue skies which is unusual for Ohio in the winter. This would be a great way decorate your home or office.

Fine Art Landscape Photography by Daniel Cleary Photography

Posted on November 12, 2013April 22, 2014 by cleary

I have been doing a lot of traveling for work lately, northern Ohio, southern Ohio, Indiana. And because my days have been starting early and ending late I have been seeing many sun rises and sun sets from the road. So I jumped out of the van one day and took a photo with my trusty iPhone camera. I have been making panorama photographs with my iPhone of the Ohio and Indiana landscape. It actually turned out better than I could have imagined. So now as I’m driving, my iPhone camera is ready to go. I have been building a few extra minute into my drive so I can stop and take a couple of photos. Here are the first six finished images. If you are interested in purchasing any of these photographs contact Dan Cleary at Cleary Creative Photography 937-298-6776.