If you’ve walked down Mullumbimby’s main street and stopped to admire the murals, chances are you’ve already seen the work of local artist and muralist Daniel Hend. Now he is holding an exhibition, Countless Strokes, indoors.
Born and raised in Mullumbimby, Daniel spent much of his childhood being creative. ‘At the age of nine I would set up an easel at the markets and in the main streets around the Byron Shire painting and selling Australian landscapes,’ he said.
‘Now at 31, I have held, and been a part of, many exhibitions for over 12 years. From black and white illustrations, vivid dark surrealism, to murals of native animals and landscapes.’
No single genre
Daniel says he finds freedom in creating whatever he feels like creating, and not sticking to any single genre. It wasn’t until he was 19 that he completed his first mural. ‘I was quite happy with the result,’ he said. ‘After that I reached out to businesses in the local community who commissioned me to paint murals in town.’
Over the last decade, Daniel has completed over 150 murals from the Sunshine Coast down to Tasmania. He packs his supplies onto his motorbike, heading off to different towns, painting as he goes. He’s a one-man rolling art show who has taken his work to walls across the country.
Countless Strokes runs 14 October to 3 November at Mullum Garage Gallery, from 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Opening night is 16 October, from 4pm to 8pm.
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