Hello, I’m Dan Kopsak, thanks for visiting! I’ve spent most of my life in the creative field, from my studies of Graphic Design and Fashion Merchandising at Kent State University to my career as a wallpaper designer and a senior line designer at American Greetings. I have spent much of my time with and around creative people and environments and developed my sense of design and color through these outlets. I’ve also been inspired by many artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Keith Haring, William Morris, Drew King and most recently, Nikki McClure. I appreciate their attention to detail and how they view the world around them.

After spending 20 plus years in the corporate world and feeling time for change, my husband, Matthew and I decided to quit our jobs, sell our home and cottage, pack up the car and head west. Fortunately, we ended up on Vashon Island (a 20-minute ferry ride from Seattle) where we had the opportunity to catch up on ourselves, life and decide what we really wanted to be when we grew up. A scary adventure, but so freeing at the same time.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” - Neale Donald Walsch

Having a “blank” canvas in front of me and a lot more free time that I wasn’t quite used to I began to explore ways to redefine myself and wanted to create more art, but where to begin?

I pulled out a cut paper UFO (UnFinished Object) that I had started a few years earlier. Since I finally had the extra time I was able to focus on finishing the project and was quite pleased with the results (something I think creatives struggle with at times).

The first piece was a silhouette of a tree in our backyard that I had become very familiar with after watching it change from season to season for over 16 years. I love how intricate and detailed the tree appeared when the leaves had fallen as winter approached. The silhouette allows you to see the object without other distractions and lets the simple beauty of the shape come forward.

I began to realize my fondness for this type of art was paralleling my own personal life by removing all the clutter and just focusing on the beauty of the basics. It’s been a very rewarding experience thus far and I love being able to look at things differently and appreciate all the beauty that surrounds us.      

Thanks for taking the time to find out a little more about me and I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it.