Daniel J. Keys: Odysseys In Painting

This past April at the Portrait Societys 20 thanniversary Art of the Portrait conference, artist Daniel J. Keys took home the William Draper Grand Prize for his remarkable painting Innocence.

- Krystle Stricklin

The award-winning work is a tender depiction of two children ensconced amongst a splendid collection of alluring objects. According to Keys, who is widely known for his exquisite floral compositions, winning the Draper Prize came as a complete surprise. Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Keys and talk about his whirlwind experience at the conference, the inspiration behind Innocence and what he’s been up to since April.

“Innocence features the two children of my artist friend Adam Longatti, who teaches at the state university here in Fresno where I grew up. I often paint with him, and when I wanted to depict children within a larger composition, he volunteered his little angels,” Keys explains. The narrative of this work is purposefully ambiguous and designed to evoke a mood rather than a particular place so viewers are reminded of their own memories and of something deeply universal—the innocence of childhood. On this Keys says, “I wanted it to be a scene where people could create their own narrative. It’s about that fleeting moment that is part of the human experience of being a child, of being innocent.” For me, this painting is equally about childlike curiosity and recalls that period in life when every day holds the promise of new experiences and unexplored mysteries. At the center of the canvas, the precocious boy thoughtfully examines the caged bird, perhaps considering what might happen if he dared to set his feathered companion free. Unaware or simply unbothered by the scene behind her, the young girl remains lost within the pages of her book. Clearly, reading from the opening chapters, she too is at the beginning of her own story.