About The Artist

Dan Olson

When I was 8 years old I found myself in the backseat of my family’s car crossing one of the Yellowstone River bridges.  We were forced to stop as there were numerous cars on the bridge with passengers getting out to see something.  I looked out the window and saw a huge bull moose down in the river below.  This was the first moose I had ever seen and this foundational moment began my fascination with the Northwoods.  During family trips to northern Minnesota I would ask my parents to take night drives looking for moose and take detours down Hwy 1 from Ely with the hopes of seeing them.  Instead of heading to the beach for my high school spring break, a couple of my closest friends and I headed to the Gunflint Trail.  We stayed in a small cabin on Poplar Lake so we could hike, fish, and of course, look for moose.  During my time in the Boy Scouts I traveled to Isle Royale National Park.  We hiked the Greenstone Ridge from Windigo and returned on the Minong Ridge.  Seeing numerous moose and taking in a sunset at Hugunin Cove had me hooked on border country.  These life events and many more wilderness experiences serve as a foundation for my desire to be a painter. 

Over the past few years I have been spending time painting on the Gunflint Trail and North Shore.  I am a member of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota.  I am also a member of the Grand Marais Art Colony and have taken classes held at Bearskin Lodge during May each of the past 4 years.  I have studied plein air technique under amazing artists such as Neil Sherman, Joe Paquet, Dave Gilsvik, Catherine Hearding and Brock Larson.  I have also spent time on my own exploring the wilderness in search of unique places to create my paintings.  I brought my paints to Isle Royale in 2023 so I could capture the unique landscape of the island.  I rely on these studies from the field to create larger studio pieces so I can maintain the original feel of the plein air moment. 

My style is constantly evolving and has been formed by studying the work of many artists.  I am amazed by how effortless Howard Sivertson made his paintings look even though I know they required years of study and experience.  I have learned from how straight forward and bold Vincent Van Gogh’s colors and brush strokes are.  I am influenced by the unapologetic way Dave Gilsvik uses colors in his subjects, letting the paint do the talking.  Tom Thomson and Canada’s Group of Seven used a variety of interesting and exciting painting styles in their landscapes. This variety motivates me to capture wilderness in ways the eye and camera cannot.  My moose paintings are inspired by Carl Rungius’s Western Paintings.  I have aspirations of painting Minnesota's moose with the same dedication he gave to the Rocky Mountain, Canadian, and Alaskan moose. 

The Boundary Waters and the northern wilderness are unique, rare, and pristine.  It is my hope that my paintings can communicate how amazing and important it is that places like this exist!

LAKE RICHIE, ISLE ROYALE 2021