FROM POSTS AT THE KANSAS CITY STAR TO HALLMARK’S SHOEBOX AND KCAI, THE KANSAS CITY ARTIST HAS SPENT A LIFETIME MINING COMICS AND CARTOONS, EVEN WHILE BATTLING CANCER
– BY ROBERT TRUSSELL

People showed up in droves.

The intimate gallery space at HJ’s Community Center near Meyer Blvd. and Wornall was packed before the official start time of 6 p.m. on Aug. 29. Dick Daniels, a visual artist with a deadpan sense of humor and a devoted following, was giving away as much of his art as possible. The virtual flyers Daniels blasted out to old friends, former colleagues and fans summed up the offerings succinctly: T-shirts, ceramics, letterpress images, cartoon wood plaques, faux beer ads, beer glasses decorated with fictional slogans and cartoon characters and framed prints would be available.

His life’s work was free to anyone who walked through the door.
“Don’t be shy,” he messaged via his mailing list. “Please take as much as you want… Bring your own bags and boxes to cart away your precious treasures.”
Daniels and his wife, Renee Daniels, were seated just inside the door, greeting visitors as they filed in. At one point I threaded through the throng to ask Dick a simple question: How many people did you invite?
“Too many!” he answered.
Dick Daniels has done what a lot of people would like to do: He’s made a living making art. Ceramics, drawings, retro advertising images and paintings on scrap lumber – for years he sold his work at art fairs. But the unsold work stacked up.