Daniel Faiella

Daniel Faiella was born and raised in New Hampshire.  His interest in landscape painting has its roots in the rocky, forested, and mountainous terrain of the Northeastern United States in which, as a child, he first became aware of his surroundings through exploration on long walks and hikes.  Beginning his studies in art at the age of 16, with painter Paul Ingbretson, Daniel completed a 6 year atelier curriculum in classical drawing and painting before pursuing his BFA in drawing and painting at the University of New Hampshire.  During this time he also worked as studio assistant to artist and illustrator Tomie DePaola.  He lives and paints in the seacoast area of New Hampshire, within a short drive of the mountains, the ocean, and the woods he first explored as a child.

My usual painting practice is to pick a place and to spend an extended amount of time there, walking around and painting and memorizing the scenes around me, and then producing paintings based on those studies and memories.  This painting was the result of several weeks spent in the winter of 2023-2024 in the White Mountains in Jackson, NH.  It's a synthesis of a number of studies and memories from walks around the area, but is chiefly inspired by the experience I had one day of being snowed in by a heavy snowfall.  The sensation of being enclosed and somehow protected by the snow, while being able to see through the woods and out into a distant, unattainable vista, was the feeling that I tried to capture in this painting.