Dan Looney has braved heat, rain, and the occasional windstorm to share his art at Boise Art Museum’s Art in the Park. Celebrating his 50th year of painting at the open-air cultural event, Looney had plenty to reflect on. “When I got involved, there was probably 30 or 40 of us,” he said. “It was a little local show, and we would all sit around, and people would bring homemade cookies. And then it just kept growing.” The 78-year-old sells originals and prints of his works in a style he categorizes as ‘fantasy realism.’ One of his inspirations for starting to paint, aside from his creative mother, came from his own visit to Art in the Park in the 70s. “I was a banker for 35 years,” he said. “But back then I was just not fulfilled. So I went to Art in the Park, and then started taking some evening painting classes.” Three weeks later, Looney decided he’d found his fulfillment. Since then, he’s painted around 3,000 paintings, selling most for around $400 to $500. “I've ave...
