Meet Dan (aka Faj) Odonnell

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dan (aka Faj) Odonnell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dan (aka Faj) below.

Dan (aka Faj), so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.

Accomplishing my strong communication skills is marked by a humbling moment of public embarrassment and the determination to never let it happen again. It’s often said that the most valuable lessons in life come from failure. It’s awful to admit, but the old saying applied to me in a cruel way.

It all started when my boss asked me to replace him at public speaking engagement. The subject of the talk was to be about the company where we worked. I grossly underestimated the significance and size of the audience. Sure, I made some notes, came up with a few interesting facts about the machinery in our manufacturing facility and decided to put on my favorite clothes. I thought I had it all ready. That belief turned out to be disastrously naive.

The day of the event arrived and as I stood at the podium, I realized, too late, that this was over my head. I hadn’t organized enough info or practiced my delivery. My way-too-short speech was met by both the audience’s polite but strained smiles and looks that made me feel they were saying “Is that it? We came to the event for this?” It was clear that I did not deliver what they expected. I left the stage knowing I had let down the audience, my boss and myself.

That night, I replayed the experience in my mind, analyzing everything. It was a difficult reflection. I realized that if I wanted to communicate effectively, I had better work on preparation, clarity, and ways to connect with the audience.

I was called to my company’s President’s office the next day where I was questioned about what happened. I could only admit that I was entirely at fault. More embarrassment, the entire company knew I was a dumbass. It hurt.

From that moment, I resolved to never let myself be so unprepared again. I began actively seeking resources and opportunities to improve my communication skills. I enrolled in a community college speaking class, where I practiced regularly and received constructive feedback.

I made a habit of preparing thoroughly for every time I had a meeting. I would research my subject, outline my key points, and rehearse multiple times. I also learned to share personal anecdotes and admit when I didn’t have all the answers. I feel this authenticity helps me build trust and rapport with others.

Over time, these efforts paid off. Looking back, I remain embarrassed, I think about the failure often. I’m torn between the embarrassment and the lesson I learned on that initial failure. It taught me the importance of preparation and the value of resilience. Developing strong communication skills was clearly my focus to avoid future embarrassment.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am an artist, creating acrylic paintings. I use the name “Faj” for my paintings.

I am currently concentrating on the development of more figurative work. While I truly love painting portraits, I wanted to expand my work beyond faces. Figurative work is the natural progression and allows me to use my portraits skills.

The subject matter of my figurative work comes directly from my dreams. In my dreams I fly, I jump very long distances (sometimes over a mile), I fall out of the sky. From a standing position, I catch wind and float upwards. I hover over streets and then blast forward at an incredible rate.

I do not paint images of myself, but each painting represents me. I use my friends and family as reference.

My paintings don’t have any deep meaning. They require no wordy explanation. They are no-nonsense depictions of the above description. I simply have fun creating.

I’m excited about a new event that I submitted work to: “Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh”
Many respected entities created the event. The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh, plus community partners 1Hood Media and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. The event show opening Feb 20, 2025.
For my entry, which has won an Honorable Mention, I collaborated with poet, Gabrielle Johnson, who wrote a poem that I illustrated with a 16 x 20 painting of her and the community.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

• Stay focused
• Spend time looking into other’s work. Look for things you can incorporate into your work
• Join other artists for critiques whenever you can

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I love having actual people for my models. My typical collaboration consists of asking people (almost always women) if they would be willing to be the subject of a painting, taking photos of the subject and then doing the painting. Sometimes, I am asked by people if they could be the subject of my work. I haven’t worked long-distance. It’s easier for me to get the reference photos I want by taking the photos myself. I’m in Pittsburgh, PA. I’m willing to try a long distance collaboration.

Connect with me:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @faj_dano
Web: PortraitsByFaj.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://PortraitsByFaj.com
• Instagram: @faj_dano