Ion Vincent Danu, Artist from Shebrooke Qu.

"I am a Canadian visual artist, born in Sibiu, Transylvania. I loved to draw as an infant and between 14 and 18 I was an 'apprentice artist' at the Art High School in Sibiu. Then life took over and for about 20 + years art was just an occasional delight... I've returned to my first love, drawing, painting, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, where I immigrated with my family in 1998. Since 2003, I'm a full-time professional artist, teaching artistic expression to catholic nuns on the side...

I paint mostly in watercolor and acrylics but I cannot stop myself experimenting with all kind of other themes, materials and styles (The art dealers say this is not good but what the heck!?) I've learned to take pictures since I was 11-12 years old and a camera is always somewhere near. I use photography as a art in itself and also as an auxiliary source of inspiration and documentation for my drawings and paintings. Recently, I've started to work in the fascinating field of digital art.

Writing is a complementary mean to express myself (and, as Graham Greene, put it once: a therapy.) Being an admirer (not to say a huge fan!) of Vincent van Gogh I have a blog called just that: 'Van Gogh and I'. Please click here to visit the site.

In fact, what Graham Greene saidabout writing is, for me too, emblematic:

'Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or PAINT can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear which is inherent in the human situation. Auden noted: 'Man needs escape as he needs food and deep sleep.'

A couple of years ago I understood that my main vocation was to draw portraits (the thing Vincent van Gogh, his favorite artist, always wanted to do - and did - but less than he wanted...) Now, he is quite happy and hopes to stay like that...no matter what..."

To visit Ion's site to see his paintings, please click here.