Daniel Munday’s Painting

The new oil painting for the Paradise Valley Estates Community Center is here! Professional artist Daniel Mundy painted it especially for the entry. Daniel was born in 1955 in Seattle and spent his childhood in the Northwest. His love of nature was formed during these years in Alaska, Oregon and Washington. In 1970 his family moved to the Napa Valley area, and he has lived in the vicinity ever since. He has a home and studio in Vacaville where he teaches master classes in oil painting.

The title of the painting is “Into the Hills.” He explained how he came to name it to the community’s Art Advisory Group earlier this year. “I’m not a Bible-thumper, but I am a man of faith,” he said. “As I painted the hills and felt like I was in them, I thought of the scripture Psalm 121:1,2 — ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills.’ And so, I titled it ‘Into the Hills.’ ”

When you stand before the painting, you feel like you can step right into it. Daniel is a very technical painter and by his expertise and knowledge, he leads you and your viewer’s eye up through the painting to the sky. We asked for a blue sky, not a stormy, cloudy day.

Light is an important aspect of his paintings. In the painting, he added light on the edges of the upwardly diagonal hills and has light dancing on the treetops in a rhythmic pattern. It gives us a happy, sunny day. The cool colors in the shady areas are complementary to the bright warm hills and add contrast.

When I first spoke with Daniel, I said, “Your paintings are exactly what we want, but you are way out of our league.” He replied, “I would be honored to have one of my paintings at your establishment. I will work with you.” And he did! He donated his time in making the painting and made it possible for us to have it.

I would like to add that an artist, with his expertise and knowledge and personal integrity, honors our community by displaying his painting on our wall. Thank you, Daniel, for making this beautiful painting for us.

Also, thank you to Doug Fisher, Resident Council President, and to the members of the council for their donation to make this happen.