Daniel
E. Cooper began his art education in junior college studying
under Jim Smythe who was classically trained at The Ecole
Des Beaux Arts in Paris. Later, he acquired a Bachelor of
Fine Arts Degree at Art Center College of Design where he
had the good fortune to study with Dan McCaw, Craig Nelson,
and John Asaro who especially nurtured his love of painting.
After
graduating, he worked as an illustrator for the next ten years
doing illustration for the entertainment industry and taught
painting at the California Art Institute for Fred Fixler in
the mid 1980's. Since 1990 he has worked at Walt Disney Feature
Animation in various capacities from painter to art director
on such films as Aladdin, Lion King, Tarzan, and Fantasia
2000 and Chicken Little.
Cooper feels that his work has been influenced most recently
by artists Mark Daily and his wife, CM Cooper. Cooper has
found sharing his knowledge in art very rewarding by teaching
painting at other schools including the distinguished Art
Center College of Design, Associates in Art, and California
State University Northridge.
In 2004, Dan won awards of excellence in the OPA national
show, The Western Regional show, and 3rd place in International
Artist Magazine's figure painting competition. In 2005, he
was featured in an article in International Artist on painting-which
included a retrospective of his work and a step by step demo.
Daniel E. Cooper is an member of Oil Painters of America and
the California Art Club.
