Daniel Sroka, Art Influences

Daniel Sroka is a photographer living in NJ. This May, he was named a nominee in the Abstract category of the 3rd Annual Photography Masters Cup for his photograph Mask ( fallen leaf) His work is represented by Artful Home, one of the preeminent online art galleries.
His blog offers the male perspective of trying to raise kids at home and make art at the same time.

I like what he says about his blog :"Watch behind the scenes as fine art nature photographer Daniel Sroka tries to make a living from his art. "



Glass Slipper (abstract of melting ice. 20x25)

"I am inspired by the quiet voices of nature. Every season, I walk through my neighborhood and collect the leaves, sticks, flowers, and seeds that I find along the path. These fallen leaves and seeds are like fossils, preserving a record of the passing seasons.

Every stick and flower is uniquely formed by the life it experienced, and as they dry and fade, they tell stories about their lives. Stories about the intensity of the summer light, the periods of rain and drought, and the attacks of insects they endured. I try to tell these stories through the abstract, dream-like portraits I create of these small and usually unregarded parts of nature."

Influences:

Alexander Calder I love the story of how Calder showed up for a solo exhibit at Harvard with no art. When the students who came to pick him up asked where his art was, Calder pulled out of his pocket a spool of wire and pliers. He then proceeded to create the entire exhibit of wire sculptures from scratch.

Marcel Duchamp The guy knew how to poke fun and have fun. Art can be so pretentious, and his work never fails to make me laugh and remember the sensory pleasure that art should always be.

Charles Shulz (cartoonist): He may be "just a cartoonist", but more than any fine artist, his work has has a deep and personal impact on my life. I love Schulz’s ability to express a gut-felt emotion through a simple image and a focused story. I also find myself inspired by uncompromising work ethic, and his ability to find balance between his work and his family.


Haruki Murakami (novelist): Murakami is one of my favorite writers. The worlds he creates are deceptively simple, elegant creations, with massive geologic flaws running straight through them. In his stories, very normal people encounter very odd situations, but it all seems real and natural.

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (photographers): I was simply blown away when I first saw their work at the Eastman House. They showed me what a photograph could achieve in the telling of a story or capturing of a mood.

Ted Orland (photographer): I had the pleasure of being in the same galley as Ted for a short time. I love the simple expression of mood and place he expresses in his work. And his books on life as an artist (such as "Art and Fear") are clear, honest, and inspirational.

John Chervinsky (photographer): A witty combination of science and art.


Dragon (abstract of fallen leaf. 17x25)






Unravel (abstract of a fallen leaf. 25x17)