Daniel Kanaan

Born in Boston and raised in London, artist Daniel Kanaan spent most of his life in England and France before returning to the United States in 2011; he now resides in Walnut Creek, California. Kanaan has explored a variety of mediums and motifs over the course of his art studies, including landscapes, portraits and even kinetic art made from scrap metal. His experimentation with printmaking led him to create an etching titled Lawn Chairs, which was included in the 2007 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, alongside the work of noted European artists, Frank Auerbach and Lucian Freud.

Kanaan switched his focus from figurative work to abstracts a few years ago. His latest series of abstract paintings is called Enso, which is the Japanese word for an uninhibited, hand-drawn circle. In Zen Buddhism, Enso is intended to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create.

His experimental work with circulating strokes and swirls in watercolor helped him develop an original technique that combines water calligraphy with reverse printing to achieve unique effects. He is currently working with this technique and others in a continuation of his Enso series.