One Night in Arkansas: The Kingdom, Reinvaded
24"x30", Oil on Panel
Daniel Mark Cassity's Art Kingdom a film by Content Chemistry (voted Best Documentary Short at The Persistence of Vision Film Festival, 2025
Interview, Arkansas Art Scene Blog
Article, The Idle Class magazine, 2025
Welcome to the website of fine artist Daniel Mark Cassity. I am a still life specialist, a visual storyteller, revealing my imaginary world with oil paint. This magical world I have deemed The Kingdom!
My approach is layered and laborious: a process which begins spontaneously, but requires much time to bring to fruition. I paint from life, attempting to "see" the painting in the setup, then deliver a heightened state of what is before me. There is no use of preliminary drawing, tracing, or photography. I simply begin "drawing" in paint. All of this adds time to production, but produces a richer, most authentic result. Adding to the process, I often alter, or fully construct props only to serve the paintings. If anyone should find themselves in need of an AI Antidote, I am here for you. What you see is the result of my ability to think, "draw", and paint: nothing else.
Specific to The Kingdom is my use of origami dragons as recurring characters, as well as dolls. As a seeker of visual drama, I also use colored glass to produce seemingly "luminous" shadows, as complex shadows, as well as edges, are of particular interest to me.
My paint manipulation is fittingly unique as well, as I utilize various stipple brushes to soften (stipple glazing), which ultimately results in a surface like none other. In fact, "I tap out all the time."
One more thing; I write a brief passage of fiction for each painting, a process which helps consolidate and add density to my visual ideas (the inverse of how illustrations complement literature). Writing begins with the setup process, responding to it, each folding into the other until there is a crystalized idea. Then I paint.
All of these processes ultimately intersect, offering a unique treatment of ideas, subject matter, and distinctive paint manipulation - resulting, I believe, in a powerful creative package, and something very special!
"It is my intention for viewers of my work to have an engaging, satisfying experience. Please feel free to explore."