Navy Cmdr. Daniel Ropp poses in front of a mural he painted for the libary at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, on Dec. 12, 2024. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan — An officer on this installation southwest of Tokyo is exercising his artistic side with contributions to the Navy and local Japanese communities.
Cmdr. Daniel Ropp, assigned to Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific, has been creating art throughout his 20-year military career, finding joy in the impact his work has on others.
“When I make art or any creative process, it is genuinely rewarding,” the native of York, Pa., told Stars and Stripes in a recent email interview.
Ropp said he has never really settled on a particular subject, though he experiments with portraiture, reflective items and aviation-related art.
This painting by Cmdr. Daniel Ropp of Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, will be on display at Ayase City Hall through the end of the year. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
Cmdr. Daniel Ropp, assigned to Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific, has been creating art throughout his 20-year military career, finding joy in the impact his work has on others. (Daniel Ropp)
Now in his third tour at NAF Atsugi, Ropp was recognized on Dec. 3 by Ayase Mayor Yoshihiko Katsukawa for a painting he submitted for the Ayase BaseSide Festival.
That Halloween painting depicts two Japanese-American children dressed in traditional American scary costumes with a glowing jack-o’-lantern under a full moon. It is scheduled to be on display at Ayase City Hall for the remainder of the year.
Although naturally talented, Ropp said he never attended art school but honed his skills in sketching and painting over the years. Throughout his Navy career, he has designed unit shirts and morale patches but has expanded his focus in recent years.
“I genuinely enjoy experimenting with all mediums and have experimented with drawing, acrylic and oil painting, large-scale spray paint murals, sculpture, and carving,” he said.
Using spray paint, he has performed live speed painting at NAF Atsugi open-base events, supporting the Morale, Welfare and Recreation department.
Cmdr. Daniel Ropp, assigned to Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific, has been creating art throughout his 20-year military career, finding joy in the impact his work has on others. (Daniel Ropp)
Cmdr. Daniel Ropp, assigned to Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific, has been creating art throughout his 20-year military career, finding joy in the impact his work has on others. (Daniel Ropp)
Ropp said he is scheduled to complete a large mural early next year in nearby Yamato and has a goal of getting more public art into the community.
He said his artistic objectives are twofold.
“Sometimes I want to create something from my imagination that plays with different elements, and on some other pieces I genuinely want to create a piece to help build community and tell a story of that organization or group,” he said.
After becoming more comfortable with public art exhibitions in 2021, Ropp said he pushed his works out to social media. About three years ago, he established a dedicated Instagram page, @flysurrealart, and a webpage, www.flysurreal.com, to show off his creations.
Each piece requires significant time and effort, Ropp explained. Paintings like the one displayed at Ayase City Hall vary in complexity, depending on materials, size and detail.
“For some complex oil paintings, it can take months because of the curing required,” he wrote. “For some acrylic paintings, it can take about 12 to 24 work hours, and for live paintings, I strive to complete them between 4 to 7 hours so they can be completed in a single sitting.”
A large-scale mural, like one he created for NAF Atsugi’s library, could take months. It shows a compilation of children’s story book characters, such as from the 1982 book, “The Big Friendly Giant,” by Roald Dahl. Ropp used his personal leave time to complete that project.
“I wanted to put as many different elements and Easter eggs throughout the mural so that when people view it, they are always looking and discovering new parts of it,” he said.
Ropp was deeply moved by the recognition he recently received from Ayase city.
“I was completely surprised, humbled and grateful,” he said. “I am glad that something like art can be used to connect communities and find common ground in our humanity.”
