Heartland 

Dan Graziano’s painting, Heartland, is made with traditional materials – oil paint on canvas, a world away from our digital age. Graziano's painting appears effortless, but consider the mastery that’s required to achieve such a free, immediate effect. The strokes of the brush build up the image, implying volume and texture. Note the color shifts, the variations within what at first appears to be uniform sections of color: it is this attention to detail that makes the house so life-like. Graziano clearly has an affection for the vernacular architecture of this place. The image suggests a close observation of the landscape. It presents us with a seemingly simple scene, yet it is through the sophisticated handling of the materials that its message becomes so powerful. The social context of this image is also significant. The house and surrounding environment have a certain humble charm, that might be easily overlooked. But when painted with such care, these ordinary structures become objects of beauty.