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“Your feet will bring you where your heart is.” Irish Proverb
Many immigrants have crossed troubled seas to find a “promise land” in America. In 1971, Daniel J. Linehan’s (Dan) mother was one of them. The heated conflict between the IRA and Britain forced her and her four-year-old son, Daniel to leave her beloved homeland and seek solace on foreign soil. Born in Northern Ireland and raised in the streets of Bronx, New York, he could have become something straight out of Rich Prices,’ Lush Life. His salvation: the fine arts. Complicate his personal journey to his own promised land with the severe abuse his family experienced from an unloving stepfather from Granada, and his story could very well rival the movie Precious. But Daniel is as tenacious as a pit bull, and he wasn’t going to let go of his dream for anything. Art literally saved his life.
Dan is also a former Marine who suffers from PTSD and depression:
“My struggle with PTSD and depression gives me a perspective that most do not have; an insight that you see reflected in my art. I give you my absolute best, just as I have done all my life and as a person who served in the Marine Corps and built Water tunnel number three in New York City. I am a high-speed, low-drag personality that has given his time in the service of others all of my life.”
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Art is a Healing Gift
Dan took all that pain and started creating art at the age of six. He not only has become a superb artist as a result, but he has also become a staunch advocate for the artist. He strongly believes that they are given the creative gift to change the world. He mentors other artists and looks to add “author” to his list of credits in the near future. His target market is children—particularly those who have been abused—who are aspiring to be artists. Dan wants them to understand that they can use their gifts and talents to create a better reality, not only for themselves but also for those around them and it all can start with a dot.
Pointillism is Dan’s favorite form of artistic expression. It is a technique of painting where small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. He states, “I love pointillism, as it is the most difficult style to produce straight out of your head. I have a gift of telling stories through this imagery. Recently, I made the decision to share my art with the world, which is the most vulnerable I have ever been. A conqueror of abuse and a lifetime artist, I strive to produce the type of art that takes you across the line of moral indignation. In doing this, my hope is that my art causes you to experience true heartfelt emotional bliss and, at times, makes you think.” Dan had his first solo art show in 2015.
“All who wander are not lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings.
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On a recent trip to the Dominican Republic with his wife, Lecina, he was touring the city of Puerto Plata, looking for authentic artists and artwork and developed a relationship with the Sousa School of Animation. He was moved with compassion at the deprived state of the school and is now working stateside to rebuild it and preserve the creative muse of its next generation of artists.
Dan states, “My advocacy for art is simple, I advocate for art to be available to everyone. I do this by doing after school teaching and mentoring. I am all over social media promoting the idea of art for everyone! My next adventure will be to help Veterans use art because art saved my life.”
He is the lead artist at Linehan Studio & Gallery and resides in Houston, Texas with his beautiful wife Lecinia, his daughters Kira Leslie, Kaitlyn Ashley, and Kimberly Marie, and their fur babies Topper and Sweetie (his dogs) and Sapphira (his cat).
Photo credit: Linehan Studio and Gallery
Very interesting story!