Student Artist Inspiring Our Bulldogs
Daniel Janzen, a local artist and graphic design major at Fresno State, has been creating art for over 20 years.
Two of Janzen’s pieces are on display in the Fresno Arts Council gallery in downtown Fresno.
One piece is inspired by roadside blossoms in the Reedley area. His “Peach Blossom” painting was the result of an artist’s nightmare. He was all the way out in the orchard and realized he did not have his paints.
“In the midst of my panic, I just closed my eyes and thought well what do you have? We all have that artistic innovation that artists always have because we create things. So, I started looking in my car and what I found were M&Ms and coffee,” Janzen said.
Janzen’s second piece in the gallery, which he says is his favorite, is also not standard practice. He used the tip of an eraser dipped in an ink pad to create the entire image.
The Fresno Arts Council works hand and hand with Fresno Art Hop events supporting local artists like Janzen.
Andrea Mele, the program coordinator at the Fresno Arts Council, encourages any creatives to “just go for it” and put their work out in the world for the public to enjoy.
“There’s a place to show your art and various venues for art hop and we are always here to answer questions or help find opportunities, whether that’s for grants or teaching artist opportunities,” Mele said.
Janzen’s art has been displayed at the Conley Art Gallery at Fresno State. Here, he and other students have an opportunity to display their pieces and compete in the yearly student art show.
Fresno State’s gallery technician, Christopher Lopez, said that the Conley Art Gallery is all about creating opportunities for students. Whether it’s for practicing their skills, creating to get a job in the future or simply displaying their art for the enjoyment of others, the gallery provides that place for them.
“So, we do our best to develop programs that will bring our community here, and it’s a great way to bring awareness to what we’re doing. It’s also a wonderful way to recruit students, too,” Lopez said.
The next showcase for the Fresno Arts Council is the “Arts Alive: Agricultural Exhibit” on April 27. That is open to the public and will be at the San Joaquin Parkway Trust River Center at 5:30 where Daniel Janzen will be judging the showcases.