Dan Craig
The Many Lives
of an Artist
Written By Larry J. Mickartz
62
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
D
an Craig has a bit of a cat’s life in him…all nine of
them! The Bureau of Labor Statistics say that people
in the workforce today can expect to have ten different
jobs. Those new to the workforce today can expect
to have twelve to fifteen in their lifetime! We are not sure of the
count in Dan’s life but he certainly has had several.
Back in high school in San Jose, Dan and his teachers realized
he had an artistic talent. According to Dan “I had a knack for
it and liked it.” He went on to spend two years studying art but
then life got in the way. He took a job as an antique wholesaler.
A job that lasted for about 10 years! From there he went into
facilitating downtown development and proceeded to spend
twenty-five years doing that in places like Hollister, Berkeley,
and Morgan Hill.
Late in the 2000’s his latent desire to open a brewery took the
form of opening and running a bar and restaurant. For two years
Dan and his life partner, Kim Bush, ran the Firehouse in the
old Station 55 in Gilroy. The pressures and fatigue of running a
restaurant are significant and after a while, Dan and Kim decided
to slow life down and get out of the restaurant business.
Dan’s choice was “retirement” but like many others, recliner-
chair retirement was not for Dan. He rekindled his early passion
and dove into the world of an artist. It was an early passion in
his life and rekindling it was good for the mind and soul. He had
never completely abandoned his art. It was now time “to get back
on track.”
Dan’s early work had a sense of realism; his more recent work,
which he feels better about, has a more impressionistic style. Dan
says, “It invites the viewer in as a participant, gives them some-
thing to figure out.” Dan sells his artwork and has had showings
here and there including the new Blue Line Gallery in Gilroy.
Currently he is in the artist’s enviable position of having nothing
for sale. Other than a few paintings on the walls of his loft in
Morgan Hill, his work has all been sold. He is currently working
on four pieces, a couple of which were commissioned and others
that have already been spoken for!
While Dan might not be a young man, he has vitality and is
a constant learner. He advises that “you have to paint to learn to
paint,” noting that “you first learn control and discipline, formal
training works to gain
control, then you
learn to lose control
in order to release
creativity. With that
freedom, you find
a better response to
your work.”
Dan and Kim live
in a second-story
light-filled loft in
downtown Morgan
Hill. The location
and the atmosphere
suit his artistic
endeavors….
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
gmhtoday.com