Description :

This original Alaska mountain landscape by Danny Mayes pays deliberate tribute to the iconic works of Sidney Laurence, one of Alaska’s most celebrated painters. The composition features a towering, snow‑covered peak rendered with Mayes’ bold, expressive brushwork—crisp whites, deep grays, and dramatic contrasts that echo the grandeur of the far north.

In the foreground, dark evergreens rise along the left edge, while two small figures in bright red and orange stand on a rocky outcrop to the right, emphasizing the scale and ruggedness of the terrain. At the very summit of the mountain sits a tiny, imagined cabin—a symbolic detail Mayes uses to suggest a place where Sidney Laurence himself might retreat or “stay from time to time.” This subtle narrative element transforms the painting from a simple landscape into a quiet conversation between two artists across generations.

Artist Bio — Danny Mayes (American, b. 1950s)

Danny Mayes is a longtime Pacific Northwest painter known for his bold, intuitive brushwork and expressive depictions of regional life. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Mayes originally trained as a boxer before earning a scholarship to the Burnley School of Commercial Art (later the Art Institute of Seattle). There he studied under celebrated Northwest painter William Cumming, whose influence can be seen in Mayes’ energetic linework and confident, gestural style.

Working primarily in acrylic and watercolor, Mayes has spent decades painting the people, landscapes, and working vessels of the Northwest and Alaska. His subjects range from street scenes and maritime life to mountain landscapes and portraits of civil rights leaders and Seattle sports figures. His work is known for its immediacy, emotional warmth, and the sense of movement he brings to even the quietest scenes.

Mayes exhibited widely from the 1990s through the 2010s, including shows at Kirsten Gallery in Seattle’s University District. His paintings have been collected by the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, and numerous corporate and private collectors throughout the region. Today, he remains admired for his ability to capture the spirit of the Northwest — its weather, its working culture, and its dramatic natural beauty — with a style that is unmistakably his own.