Danielle has been surrounded by art since a very early age and viewed art as the fundamental aspect of who she is as a person.

 

Danielle studied art privately from the age of 7, later attending The National School of the Arts where she matriculated in 1998. She then went on to study at The Surrey Institute of Art & Design.

 

When Danielle returned to South Africa, she began teaching art privately and later took on a position teaching at the Kings School.

 

In 2011, she took on the challenge to develop herself as a painter. She went through many an "artist crisis" that inevitably happens when you throw yourself so far from a level at which you function with ease and familiarity, into the unexplored. It has been a period of intense self-critique and exponential growth.

 

Although Danielle has worked with many mediums, from ceramics to animation, she is best known for her contemporary portraiture executed through large canvases and bold, gestural energy.
 

Danielle’s paintings begin with abstract lines and swathes of colour that lay the foundation for the overlaid image of a face or figure - In most cases sitters are invited into her studio for photo sessions, spending a good while with these images, getting to know them and then moving quickly to get the image onto the canvas. The results are a continual layering of choices and decisions. Her work gets beneath the skin, to reveal the multifaceted nature of human identity as well as a contrast between seeing and being seen.

 

Danielle continues to push herself as a painter and finds it important to prove to herself that she can still take risks that throw her out of her comfort zone and establish her own identity as a painter.

 

Notable Collections: Standard Chartered, London & New York