a landscape painting by SFA alumnus and artist Jason Daniel

Since the early '80s, Stephen F. Austin State University alumnus and artist Jason Daniel has enjoyed painting landscapes with an East Texas feel. During the fall 2015 semester, Daniel's artwork will be displayed in SFA's Culinary Café.


NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's Culinary Café will host an opening reception for artist and alumnus Jason Daniel from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Culinary Café.

"We encourage our SFA family and the Nacogdoches community to enjoy a night with us at the Culinary Café," said Dr. Chay Runnels, SFA's hospitality administration program coordinator and graduate program coordinator.

The Culinary Café features artwork by various artists each semester, and Daniel's collection has been selected for display during fall 2015.

A Nacogdoches native, Daniel earned his Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts from SFA. For the past 11 years, he has taught art at Jersey Village High School in Houston. Before teaching high school, Daniel taught studio art at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for eight years.

"Exhibiting my work at SFA is especially important to me because my roots are here at SFA and in East Texas," Daniel said. "I discovered that I wanted to be an artist my sophomore year. This was a turning point in my life and has determined so much for me. It's an honor to have the opportunity to exhibit my work at my alma mater."

As is reflected in his featured artwork at the Culinary Café, Daniel's primary interest has been landscape painting since the early '80s. However, he is expanding his creative interests by including a more surrealist approach to drawing and painting.

"In a sense, all the landscapes have an East Texas pineywoods feel to them. I'm fascinated by how design principles used in landscape painting can be put to a range of purposes," Daniel said. "In some of the more recent work, I've used a wider range of imagery. The imagery is discovered in an intuitive way through the process of working. All of the work is mostly unplanned."

The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and the dress is casual.

For more information, contact Runnels at (936) 468-2060 or email runnelsc@sfasu.edu.