Jelly Fish Moon

This recent ‘Jelly fish Moon’ was a private commission, it combines both my figurative and abstract work in a single piece, it took three and a half months from concept to completion and 18 different reverse layers went into completing the effect of this large round panel, which includes, ink, paint, pearl lustres, enamel, 24kt goldleaf and silver leaf all reverse applied to the glass.

It’s always a nervous commitment embarking on a private commission and needs a good imagination to be able to visualise the finished work. Each commission I’ve worked on is very unique and individual, some people just like me to ‘take over’ but with this piece I worked closely to the clients specifications, supplying sketches, colour and texture examples and in this case a study jelly fish panel. I used reference materials supplied by the client and I also visited the space where the piece will be displayed, with a similar size and colour example.

This piece was an absolute joy to work on.

‘In a new light’

Ive spent many years learning the craft of gilding in its many applications, be it traditionally gilding as an antique restorer or working with verre-eglomise as a head artist and gilder for a commercial glass company… and it seems there’s always more to learn!

Over recent years I have focused on glass and verre-eglomise as my medium and art form, as I love its complexity and I have been able to bring my background as a fine artist and illustrator into my Art application.

With this latest collaboration, it’s been an absolute joy to be able to share some traditional gilding knowledge and teach the very skilled Edward Wild some basics in this heritage craft.

The In a new light project’ has been bought together by Jess Pearson and Edward Crumpton and I’m so excited to see how Edward Wild Furniture applies these new heritage craft techniques to his current catalogue of skills and maybe creates an exciting new narrative in his work.

For me it’s been an exploration into analysing my own skill set as a possible educator, in teaching and keeping a very special skill set alive while also helping the local creative ecology.

Thanks to Gold Leaf Supplies and A.S.Handover Ltd for our gilding supplies to create the beech wood turned, traditionally water gilded, eggs.

photos by Jess Pearson North Devon Maker Series

Cornwall Home Show

Thanks to everyone who came along to say Hello at the Cornwall home show. So lovely to meet up with old followers and make some new friends. I really hope to be back in Cornwall soon, the pieces went down really well at the exhibition with amazing feed back… Thank you!

Supersized Sardines

I was recently approached by a client who had purchased a 750mm x 950mm Shoal of Sardines a few years back, before my work had started to develop onto multiple layers of glass.

My client wanted to know if I could turn her single panel into two? And create that ‘deep’ look and I’m really happy to share with you the finished commissioned piece.

This Mega Shoal is also now, officially, the largest deep shoal of Sardines to date…

Lovebirds

Love is in the air!

The beautifully colourful lovebird, cant help but bring a smile. These wonderful birds get their name due to their nature, like lovers they are known for cuddling and feeding their mate with whom they stay for life.

Habitat loss due to climate changes has meant that some wild lovebird species are now classified as vulnerable, meaning they under threat of extinction as a wild species (and are now listed on the IUCN red list)

This beautiful multicoloured pair of lovebirds are reverse painted in blended tones from warm reds and oranges to earthen greens and entirely gilded in 24kt gold leaf.

🔴 *EDIT - ‘Pair of Lovebirds’ SOLD*

Liquidambar

My liquidambar Moon is inspired by the colourful trees of the same name at RHS Garden Rosemoor. Through the year this tree shows the most beautiful array of colours, but it’s truly in a league of its own in Autumn. I have used gathered leaves from the trees by the lake at Rosemoor to print different colour shades onto the glass, the work has then been layered in paints and copper leaf, to add a layer of depth, like leaves that have fallen on the ground.

🔴 *EDIT - ‘Liquidambar’ SOLD*

Solo Art Exhibition at RHS Garden Rosemoor

Come meet and talk to Danni at her

Solo Art Exhibition

RHS Garden Rosemoor, Torrington, EX38 8PH

Running Daily 10:30am - 4:00pm

11th - 21st November 2021

“Golden Garden Spider”

I’ve always had the deepest respect for all manner of living creatures. Insects and bugs have always been truly fascinating to me, but for some reason, like many people I have a rather intense and irrational, fear of spiders.
My fear of them even played an integral part of my university dissertation and graduating art show where I explored fear, the dark side of fairytales and folklore.
My most memorable and terrifying encounter with a spider was with a ‘Huntsman’ whilst travelling Australia in my early twenties. Roughly the size of an outstretched hand, she clung stealthily to the underside of a sketchbook I’d just retrieved from under the bed in our camper van whilst we camped deep out in the backcountry of Queensland. I didnt sleep well for the rest of trip!

Despite my fears, I’ve learnt to co-exist alongside them a bit more comfortably these days.
I am also awed by them… after all, they are an integral part of our delicate garden eco-systems helping to maintain harmony and balance. They eat the flys and mosquitos and the birds eat them! I am honoured to welcome them into my little garden, and as the old proverb goes…

“If you want to live and thrive, let a spider run alive”

‘Golden Garden Spider’ Measures 63cm x 63cm, gilded in 24kt Goldleaf in reverse onto glass and framed in a bespoke Ash Frame Contact the studio for more information on this piece.

‘Contemporary Natural World Artist of the Year 2021’

Really excited to announce I have been awarded ‘Contemporary Natural World Artist of the Year 2021’ in the British Made Awards. Thanks to all my followers for the continued support and for staying with me on my journey.

‘Silver Darlings’ at RHS Rosemoor

‘Silver Darlings’ now in the Lecture Room at RHS Rosemoor

“Kiting Kestrel”

Even though Kestrel numbers have declined in the UK, we are very lucky here in the West Country, as they are a common site windhovering over gorse covered cliff sides and rugged moorland.

Kestrels are the only bird of prey that hover while they hunt and unlike other birds, such as the humming bird, they don’t rapidly beat their wings, they rely on ‘lift’ from wind to hold them in place, hardly flapping a wing at all. They simply open and glide a technique known as kiting.

I’ve used a slightly modified gilding technique to create a two tone gold silhouette of long wild, summer grasses and if you look closely, intricate speckles create an ambience of dancing motes, glimmering in the light.

My piece ‘Kiting Kestrel’ is reverse painted and entirely gilded in 24kt goldleaf. The framed work measures 1350mm x 650mm in a 47mm deep.

For more information on this piece please contact the studio directly.

Kiting Kestrel

Shoal of Blue fin Tuna

The ‘Shoal of Blue fin Tuna Fish’ is one of my largest private commissions to date. I wanted to share with you some of the process that went into this unique piece. It’s taken 6 months from initial client introduction to final installed artwork. within this time frame, phone calls, meetings, site visits, sketches and pallet colour studies have all happened, the clients choice of subject matter and the space involved meant a large shoal would work perfectly…

Final Tuna sketch

Initial colour study piece

The work is reverse painted in a blended pallet of rich royal blue, cyan, turquoise with hints of purple, then reverse gilded in silver leaf with 24kt goldleaf highlights.

Here’s what the client had to say…

“The unveiling of a commission is always an exciting event for both artist and client: had Danni managed to interpret our random thoughts to create a unique piece of art deserving of the “prime spot” in our new home? “Shoal of Blue fin Tuna” exceeds all our expectations - it is perfect, simply stunning. More than that, the whole experience of working with Danni and Ellie has been very special and we feel privileged to be a small part of their ever-growing success.”

— PRIVATE COLLECTOR. N.DEVON

My latest client testimonial...

“We had been looking for some art work for a couple of years and just couldn’t find the right piece - we actually had no idea what we really wanted but I was convinced that we would know once we found it! By chance we came across Danni’s work and were really captivated by an abstract, ‘Gilded Skies’, which was perfect except it was too small for the place we wanted to put it. After some deliberation we eventually took the plunge and contacted Danni about commissioning a similar larger piece. Having never gone down this route before we were slightly worried, but Danni was a joy to work with and we were quickly put at ease, in fact we were so confident that we would not be disappointed that we actually ordered two commissions! The finished pieces look stunning and we are absolutely delighted.”

— THE GROGAN’S . WILTSHIRE

Latest commission

Commissions are such exciting projects for me! It’s always so interesting to work closely with a client and create a special piece to an interior brief or colour pallet. This recently completed commission involved revisiting an idea from a few years back, but taking a totally new and previously unexplored approach to the framing.

Both myself and the client are delighted with the finished piece! You can read her testimonial below……

“We’d been gifted with a smaller piece of Danni’s work previously and were mesmerised by it’s uniqueness. Looking for a larger piece to complement our new decor, we were inspired by what we saw on Danni’s website. Taking a leap of faith during lockdown , we commissioned ‘Into the Blue’. Danni’s service was impeccable. She kept us updated every step of the way and the end product didn’t disappoint . The piece is everything we imagined and more ...”

— Tina

Piece in situ

I’m available for consultations regarding commissions, this also includes site visits where applicable.

Feel free to contact myself or Ellie at the studio regarding your project or idea.

RHS Garden Rosemoor ‘The Arrivals’

After a year of cancelled events and exhibitions due to the Corona Virus, I’m really excited to finally have a piece on display! ‘The Arrivals’ can now be found at the entrance of the Royal Horticultural Society’s, Garden Rosemoor, here in North Devon. The piece is on display as part of the Winter Sculpture Exhibition and will remain on display until my solo show with the RHS later on in the year. (More to follow on this soon)

‘The Arrivals’

A triple layered case of Monarch Butterflies. Reverse painted onto glass in rustic autumnal hues and gilded in copper leaf.

*EDIT - THIS PIECE IS SOLD*

The ‘Lapis Moon’

My 'Lapis Moon' has been created using the lapis lazuli pigment, a pigment in the 19th century that was prized so much it was considered to be more precious then gold. The colour that is derived from Lapis lazuli is known as ultramarine and varies in its hue. Within this Moon I’ve created a varied pallet of blues from the original pigment, ranging from deep purples into pale cian.

Blue is the colour of serenity, wellness, tranquil calm and clarity. Throughout time it has been considered a ‘magic colour’ and a defence against evil. In colour therapy its known to boost the immune system, lower blood pressure and overcome depression.

Kandinsky once said “The deeper the Blue becomes the more strongly it calls man to the infinite, awakening in him a desire for the pure, and, finally, for the supernatural.”

My work is inspired by nature and the environment around me which in turn echo the natural rhythms of our universe, and as an abstract I want the audience to find their own emotions when they view the piece and be captured in their own individually way. When I create my moons I hope they Embody an emotive state that I feel at the time of working on them, they are a complex layering of textures, pigments and colours which as I build up, require a very meditative state of mind.”

Please contactThe T5 Gallery, London, Heathrow for more information on this original and unique piece.

A Socially Distant Collaboration

Lockdown has been a time of reflection for all of us. As a creative gently pressing pause on my exhibitions, it has meant being able to focus some time and energy towards working on new concepts and projects. And I’ve had the pleasure to be able, during this very isolated time, to work on a very special, socially distant collaboration.

Myself and Bobby already share a passion for the ocean and a connection to nature through a love of surfing, so it seemed a very natural step to join our practices in a collaborative collection. To work with such a passionate craftsman has been an utter joy. To hear Bobby talk about his processes and the history of his pieces he creates is wonderful. Here are some of Bobbys words about our first piece...

“I acquired some pieces of wood from an oak tree that had been condemned by a house-owner due to the inconvenience of its leaves on the lawn in the autumn and winter months. This sad and ignorant order to fell a tree angered me at a time when we should be exploring every opportunity to co-exist with our natural environment. I created a vessel with the wood and burnt it, intentionally scorching the warm golden tones into deep blacks to reflect my feelings towards the tree's end. I took the wood to the limits of its tolerance, stressed it to the point of cracking and gave Danni a call.” - Bobby Mills.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of ‘golden joinery’ - taking something broken and fixing it with gold. The fix in turn makes the object more beautiful by honouring its history. Instead of disguising the break or trying to make something perfect again, the art form values the damage, marks and wear of the object.

This in turn can be seen as a metaphor for our own lives. The cracks and breakages in our lives are simply events in our stories, by which we can learn, and they are the lessons that make us stronger over time.

So much in the world right now seems broken, but its time to reflect on those fragmented parts and heal ourselves and our surroundings. So many individual lessons have been learnt during this time, and we can make our connection with the environment and nature stronger by healing those breakages, and making our weaknesses our strongest and most precious elements.

I’m very excited to be able to share the journey of this vessel, which seems to have a life of its own, it has been touched and shaped in many ways, to become the piece it is today.

24kt Goldleaf Gilded Vessel

'Silver Darlings' at Heathrow Airport

My piece “Silver Darlings” is now available through the T5 Gallery

Heathrow Airport, London.

A Hexaptych of glass layers contained within a contemporary double sided, see-through case, create this captivating and engaging new piece “Silver Darlings”, inspired by the migratory Atlantic sardine runs. 

Crimson Chrysanthemum

‘Crimson Chrysanthemum’

Sometimes everything in your studio just has to wait, and what you really need, is a burst of colour to blow away the January blues.

So I’m bursting into this January with my first in a series of close up ‘Blooms’.

This chrysanthemum measures 850mm and is a rich deep crimson, gilded in copper leaf. It’s petal tips and bloom centre are gilded in 24kt gold leaf.

A flower strongly associated with happiness, honesty and friendship, did you know the chinese name for chrysanthemums means ‘the essence of the sun’.

But please feel free to contact me if you are interested in further details and images.

*EDIT - SOLD*

Copper Monarchs

Copper Monarchs (No Frame)

When I was little girl, one of the biggest influences in my life was my big sister.

When we were growing up I shared a bedroom with my sister and she used to spend hours looking through books, especially books on butterflies. I used to watch her draw them, and would listen in awe as she told me everything about their delicate life cycles. She had real ones in entomology cases on her wall, and would show me butterfly chrysalises on the bottoms of the window ledges. She would tell me their wonderful names…peacocks, red admirals, cabbage whites, painted ladies… She really was quite obsessed.

These last few weeks I’ve been reminiscing about these childhood obsessions while drawing and painting kaleidoscopes of butterflies myself, only, on the reverse on glass.

As my process means working in reverse, the composition of each butterfly was worked out in advance, so that the small white highlight dots were painted first, then the individual lines of each butterfly were inked before applying the reds and gilding in copper leaf.

‘Copper Monarchs’ is my most recently completed piece, and is now listed in my SHOP