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A portrait of Perry
JoAnne Fowler/Post-Register
Dan Perry shows off his skills as a portrait artist.
Dan Perry, a Quincy High School graduate and father of three, has been an artist all his life.
As a sixth-grade student, he entered an art contest and placed in the top six. His entry earned him a spot in the Post-Register as an 11-year-old and he has been drawing and entering contests ever since.
Residing in Quincy first from 1977 through 1990 and again since this spring, Perry never stopped appreciating art even when his jobs and life took away from his drawing time.
“I remember taking art classes with Ms. Haley in junior high and again when she became Mrs. Walburn when I was a high school student,” he said.
Perry moved to the Seattle and Bellevue areas several years after completing high school and briefly attended vocational school for accounting and business.
“I found that that was not for me,” he said and settled into a banking job for the next 12 years.
“I got into banking by accident, but stayed in to pay the bills.”
His move back to Quincy in 2008 came when he finally got tired of all the coastal rains.
“I’m drawing again and studying a J.D. Hillberry text,” said Perry, who recently finished a commissioned portrait of an infant. He has sold pieces of his artwork in Washington and Oregon.
“I can draw anything,” Perry mentioned, “including homesteads, boats, and people.”
Before Perry left Quincy for the coast, he ran his own window-washing business. He hopes to get that going again now that he is back.
“It’s just one of those things that I like to do,” he said. “It’s a service that people love and it does pay the bills.”
He washes windows on commercial buildings and residences. His business is called Mint Cleaning Services and he can be reached seven days a week at 787-2775.
His three daughters also share his talent in art. Ten-year-old Colette, 8-year-old Brianna and 5-year-old Zoe are natural artists, who seem to be able to represent what they see easily on paper like their father.
When he is not drawing or cleaning windows, Perry hits the local lakes for bass, trout and walleye fishing.
“I’m an avid fisherman and I also like to read a lot,” he said.
“I’m a devoted Christian and I enjoy books that deepen my relationship with God. It’s not unusual for me to have four books going at once,” he said.
“I’ve been able to do more fishing in the last two months than I’ve been able to in the last 20 years.
“I love the outdoors, camping, hiking and I like to stay fit with exercise and running,” said Perry of his active lifestyle.
“The thing I enjoy the most though is spending time with my daughters; they are phenomenal kids.”
Perry is happy to back in the Quincy Valley near relatives, including his sister, Gena Westra, and his mother, Ann Perry, and grandmother, Katherine McClain. His brother, John Perry, is set to move back to the area from Missouri shortly.
Perry would like readers to know that he is interested in helping those in need with yard work, windows or rides to the doctor free of charge, as long as the need is legitimate.
“I have time to help others out and I enjoy doing that,” he said.
