Introducing Our Artist

On Monday (yes, you have to wait the whole weekend) we'll meet our 2013 Kansas City Irish Fest cow. Today we'll meet the cow's creator. His name is Dick Daniels, and he's truly one of my personal art heroes. Those of you who have been to Castle Blogula may have seen one or more of the three Daniels originals that grace my walls.

Dick, tell us a little about your bad self.

DIck Daniels (center) with former KC mayor Mark Funkhauser and wife Gloria, Plaza Art Fair.

Kansas City -born illustrator, painter, ceramicist and part-time junk collector, Dick Daniels is a child of the 50’s who blossomed in the full glare of the psychedelic ‘60’s, influenced by the underground comix movement, abandoned amusement parks, American folk art and cheap commercial packaging. Daniels worked as an illustrator at The Kansas City Star for five years and a card artist for Shoebox Greetings/Hallmark since the late 80’s. For extra fun he creates oddball wooden signs painted on found and forgotten weathered wood in his ramshackle basement studio, surrounded by a sprawling mass of artifacts from his past, present and future. Carnival punks, Rat Fink model kits, wooden processed cheese boxes, half-finished robots, MadBalls, Smurf collectibles, stacks of Roi-Tan cigar boxes, millions of old plastic and hard rubber toys, boxes of parts and rusty junk. Daniels is a volunteer with the Kansas City Clay Guild where he makes unusual ceramic skulls, masks and bunny rabbits.

You locals may have seen Dick's work at the Plaza, Westport or Brookside art fairs. All of you will meet his interpretation of our KCIF mascot on Monday, right here. To get a feel for Dick's unique vision, check out some of his work here.