Dan Young was born in Denver and grew up in rural western Colorado. His experiences camping, fishing, and exploring throughout the Rocky Mountains as a child have been a strong influence on his work. He attended Colorado Institute of Art, hoping to find a direction for his talent. After graduation he moved to Dallas Texas to pursue the commercial art field. Even with a successful illustration career, the landscape of his youth was always calling him back to Colorado. He returned in 1989 to begin painting full time.

Young enjoys painting the rural life of the west, the ranches that dot the mountain valleys and river bottoms. He clings strongly to the importance of painting from life. He tries to spend as much time as possible painting on location, trying to capture his love and appreciation of nature on canvas. He has worked diligently trying to convey the feel of the moment in his paintings. “For me it is not about the details of a scene. It’s the emotion of the moment that I’m after”, states Young.

Young’s work has been exhibited in many prestigious shows such as:

Arts in the Embassies, American Embassy, Brussels Belgium

Arts in the Embassies, American Embassy, Athens Greece

Maynard Dixon Country, Mount Carmel, Utah

American Master’s at SCNY, Salmagundi Art Club, New York New York,

Small Works Great Wonders, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City Oklahoma

Western Visions Miniatures and More, National Museum of Wildlife, Jackson Wyoming

Coors Western Art Exhibit, National Western Stock Show, Denver Colorado

Artist for Colorado’s Youth, Colorado History Museum, Denver Colorado

Biennial Invitational, Bradford Brinton Memorial Museum, Bighorn Wyoming

American Art in Miniature, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Oklahoma

Young’s work has been featured in:

Southwest Art Magazine

Western Art and Architecture

Aspen Magazine

Art of the West Magazine

Western Art Collector Magazine

Plein Air Magazine

Cowboys and Indians Magazine

5280 Magazine

American Art Collector Magazine

“I love the challenge of trying to capture those final moments of the day. I have spent countless evenings just watching the drama unfold hoping to understand the changing light to better capture it on canvas.” Dan Young