Watercolors

Dann Zehr has always had an innate yearning to create, whether through singing, songwriting or other expressions he has practiced for over 30 years.  Around the turn of the new millennium, he started studying watercolor art as one of those expressions after his Wife gave him "the best gift ever!"...an art set for Christmas.  His interest started long before that, however, with a small watercolor set given to him by his Mom when he was in 1st grade or so. 

 

"I'm not sure if she just had other things she needed to do & was trying to keep me out of her hair or if she was actually encouraging my creativity!"  Dann said jokingly.  "She never complained about me being a 'handful' & is a great Mom, but whatever her reasons for giving me that first watercolor set, I'm glad she did because I wore that thing out!" 

 

"I've always appreciated her encouragement to me in the arts.  She has her bachelor's in music, a beautiful singing voice, married my Dad who was also a great singer/choir director & HER Dad was an organic farmer who loved to paint, so I guess I had a pretty good shot at having a passion for creativity." In fact, Dann's GRANDFATHERS on BOTH SIDES of the family enjoyed painting as a hobby and he saw examples of their paintings around the family's home. 

 

In college, he especially started to appreciate the impressionistic masters & their use of color.  Post-Impressionist Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte" made a particular impact when he had the privilege of seeing the massive opus first-hand on an art class trip to The Art Institute of Chicago.  Like doctors & lawyers, Dann calls himself a "practicing artist" & while not all of these art elements are represented in each of his paintings, he strives to include them & realizes the importance of line, illusion of space, shape/volume, texture, value & color. 

 

Dann has sold his own Dancing Colors (Dann Sings Colors) line of paintings, prints, calendars  & cards locally in a few Middle Tennessee shops & online.  His work is also in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, South Dakota, California, New York, Washington, Arizona, Virginia, Texas, Belgium & Ethiopia.  His first juried competition earned him a cash prize and second place recognition with artists & art lovers throughout the Middle Tennessee area.  He has participated in local art crawls & has had solo art exhibits in Smyrna & Franklin, Tennessee public libraries. 

In 2021, Dann won the "People's Choice Award" for his watercolors at the Smyrna Art Crawl.  He also became a member of the Williamson County Arts Council & an Associate Member of the Southern Watercolor Society.