Biography

The extensive breadth and excellence of the work of multitalented, multi-degreed, modern Renaissance man, Dan Terry of Austin, Tx is almost unfathomable.
While his mural and art in exhibitions are seen annually by millions, he’s also known for his extensive work in film, television production, digital 3D, music performance, guitar design and restoration; set, film, toy, product and graphic design, writing (author of four books on human sexual chemistry on Amazon, a biography of Lord Byron, and another on David Ogilvy, legendary ad man, plus several screenplays), and teaching.

Jazz in Fmaj7, pastel on paper, 76.2 x 60.9 cm

His work has won national and regional awards and acclaim in Computer Animation (Siggraph Aurora Animation 1985), fine art painting (many in juried and museum exhibitions including full election to the Pastel Society of America), Teaching (first place National Student Advertising Competition faculty advisor 1990, and others), acting and graphic design.

Rainy Pond, 2025, Acylic on Canvas, 40.6 x 101.6 cm.

“Lucky that Way” author Brad Fregger wrote that Terry is “one of the finest 3D artists in the world today.” One of the pioneers in CGI 3D modeling and rendering, in recent times he's returned to traditional media with a modern twist with over 200 murals across the state of Texas some incorporating theatrical lighting and sculptural elements. His work has recently been included in the Collectible and Investment Art Guide 2025.

Iris After the Rain, 2025, Oil on Canvas, 76.2 x 101.6 cm.

His work is in the permanent collections of the Witte Museum and the historic Alamo in San Antonio and collections around the USA. His work is represented by the Global Vision Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery in Houston and is scheduled for a one man exhibition at ArtifactNYC Gallery in Manhattan in March 2027.

Water Lilies-Study in Pinks, 2025, Acrylic on Canvas, 76.2 x 101.6 cm.

Education:
BAAS: interdisciplinary management with art direction focus, Texas State Univeristy 1984 MA photojournalism, University of Texas 1990 ABD PhD mass communication/advertising, University of Texas 1996
For prints of any of the work or for more information

Summer Oak, 2023, Acrylic on Canvas, 101.6 x 76.2 cm.

Artist Statement

There is magic and discovery in stepping back and seeing what has been created as it happens. There is a zen like meditation going on as the work progresses building up toward a vague vision stroke by stroke. Stepping back and observing at a distance reveals a vision that echos and is often more interesting on several levels than the image once only seen in the mind.

Koi Motion, 2024, Oil on Canvas, 76.2 x 101.6 cm.

" I've worked for many decades purposefully striving toward technical mastery, yet it's ever surprising to see how that translates into energy on canvas shaping a vision whose details and forms only emerge by the process of 'listening' to the what the painting itself calls for each step along the way.”

Lake Monet Fantasy Mural, 2025, Acrylic on Cinderblock Wall, 731.5 x 213 cm.

It is a journey in which the path ahead unfolds as each footprint of color lands on the painting's ground and points the way to the next step on it's path. emerging into its own vision of what it will become. The canvas, the model or vista, the vision, and technique during the process are in a dance that comes together in the moment resulting in a visual creation with a life of it's own, that like a child is the byproduct of it's parent's DNA yet surprisingly independent and different from any expected result.

Witte Museum Humpback Whale Mural, 1983, Oil on Wall, 914.4 x 304.8 cm.

As a classically influenced and trained painter, my work is planned, structured and previsualized to a great degree, yet the work is neo-classical as this moment in time and culture reshapes the work into a contemporary vision beyond mere pictorial illusion. Tho the subject matter is based on nature, the paintings' theme is the psychology of perceiving the world through our cultural and personal filters.

Living Koi Pond, 2024, oil on canvas, 152.4 x 101.6 cm.

Ultimately, while my work appears at first as diverse and even devoid of a ‘personal identifiable style” all share the commonality of an unseen cosmic energy manifesting in everything and everyone. That quantum interconnected life force energy imbues each work with a subtext that infuses the work with a dynamism beyond the more obvious pictorial subject.

https://danterryart.com
www.imdb.com/name/nm1959347
www.facebook.com/danterryart
www.linkedin.com/in/danlterry
www.instagram.com/danterry.art