Dan Wiemer, lives in a colorful world. The Red Wing Mn artist invites us to see the world through the colors, shapes and textures of his natural landscapes. "If I can look at a finished piece an put myself back in that place through the painting," he said, "then that painting is successful on a personal level."

Dan grew up in northern Illinois with a love of nature. He studied art and design at Iowa State University and received his bachelor of arts degree (graphic design) in 1986. Following college, Dan worked at a Minneapolis design firm. Three years later, in 1989, he began his freelance career. He juggles a passion to create commercial illustration as well as fine art. While his paintings adorn living rooms across the country, this illustrations are used by Paul Masson wines, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pillsbury, Chippewa spring water and Bakers Square Restaurants, to name just a few.

Watercolor has been Dan's media of choice for the last ten years. "I truly love the spontaneity of watercolor," he said. "Watercolor, in particular, is ideally suited to intuitive painting." The fluid medium lends itself to a unique decision-making process as the painting develops. Sometimes even the artist is surprised by the final piece. "I read in a golf magazine that you should plan like a surgeon and swing like a hippie," Wiemer said. "This is the way I find myself doing some of my best paintings." Dan says he enjoys the process of painting and creating more than the finished product. "The experience I have when I'm painting, the interaction between myself, the paint and the paper - that, to me, is the ultimate art form."