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Born July 31, 1965 in St. Paul, Minnesota
to Daniel F. and Donna Mae Amell.
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Shows early promise
when the mixed-media burlap/yarn piece, “Parachute
Man,” 1973, is exhibited at Miller Hall Mall
for Duluth Public Schools Elementary Art Show.
Wins consolation prize
for City of Duluth Boy Scout Jamboree soap-box derby.
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Meets Marcia and Peter Brady.
Fourth-grade teacher,
Mr. Webb, sends note to parents expressing concern that
Daniel asks for too much manila paper to draw snowmobiles
and chopper motorcycles.
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Accepted into Crossing Guard School, Brainard, MN.
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Pencil drawing of family dog, “Friday,”
is selected for exhibition in art room foyer of Ordean
Junior High School, Duluth, MN.
Starts painting in 1983 when taking first
formal art class during freshman year at St. Scholastica.
Decorates Christmas display for Duluth
Public Library “Children’s Bulletin Board”.
Majors for two years in biochemistry while
also doing art. Transfers to the University of Minnesota,
Duluth and focuses on art full time.
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Assistant Exhibit Designer at A. M. Chisholm Museum, Duluth,
MN. Responsible for annual “Christmas Around the World”
display.
Graduates from University of Minnesota Duluth,
with a B.F.A. in 1988.
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Moves to Seattle in 1990 to pursue
painting full time.
Dan adopts Poet, a stately German Shepard
with dermatology bills that would make one think he
is from LA.
Starts living out of the grendlmobile
while working out of a 15’x8’x7’ cinder
block garage in Greenlake area.
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Begins bartending at The Old Town music Hall in Ballard.
Owner Dan Cowan purchases Tractor
painting and renames the bar to Tractor
Tavern.
Finally can afford large unheated studio in Sodo area. Shows
in group shows. Wins the Pacific Northwest Annual, a 5 state
regional exhibition at the Bellevue Art Museum. Dan gets to
shake hands with Herb Weisbaum (KIRO consumer reporter).
Studio is torn down for the Mariners homeplate parking lot.
Moves to Ballard into a tiny cinderblock house with a double
garage to work in. Landlords sell the house in 2 months.
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Gets fed up. Retreats to Duluth, Minnesota to paint.
Visits with Grandma Cora while painting in the beautiful
Temple Opera Bldg. Paints 35 paintings in 3 months and
beats Cora at Scrabble over 75 times, only losing once.
Returns to Seattle in 1998 and finds another house/basement/garage
to work in. Starts selling more paintings in order to
spend less time bartending at the Tractor.
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Returns to Seattle and finds the cavern in Fremont. Again,
there’s no ventilation, no outside light whatsoever,
and children tap dance on the ceiling. Dan is still painting
there and is not quite critically insane.
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