“Figures are a way for me to find solace or comfort in these interior environments.”
Portraits of solitude
Intimate and contemplative, Danielle Mckinney paints moments of female solitude. Using acrylic paint on canvas, she puts single figures in homely places. They’re always occupied, whether smoking a cigarette or sitting deep in thought. She draws attention to physical details, using luminous colours. The photographic backgrounds, faces and fingernails are often highlighted in bright orange. She says, "I can’t undo that photographic training – it’s embedded in how I begin a painting". She uses photos of Art Deco interiors from Pinterest and Instagram as a starting point. American painters Barkley...
Bio
Danielle Joy Mckinney (she/her) was born 1981 in Alabama, United States. She now lives and works in New Jersey.
Early Inspirations
As a child Danielle Mckinney made collages from magazines: “I would build shoebox houses and paint inside them. I’d make little furniture, and take a little figure and put her in that house.”
Education
While studying at Parsons School for Design, she took photos of people. Although she always painted on the side, she ditched the camera in favour of painting when the pandemic hit.
