Hello dear hearts,
Welcome to the WONDER OF CREATIVITY WITH DANIELLE DANIEL, a heartfelt newsletter and community.
Join me as I take you deep into the weeds and wonder of my creative process, from drawing to painting, writing and publishing. Even after ten published books in ten years, and thousands of painted stories, I’m still in awe of how stories come to me. I look forward to exploring the magic of creativity with you!
Process is where my JOY resides. I hope by sharing more about my process across multiple art mediums and writing genres, that it will inspire you along your own creative path.
My newsletter will also provide exclusive previews and announcements to upcoming events, new original paintings, and exclusive sneak peeks into all things book-related!
All hearts welcome.
How my Creative Journey Started
I was 35 years old when I finally began to write and paint. I always considered myself creative, but it wasn’t until my husband’s life-altering accident in the Canadian Armed Forces that my creativity became a lifeline. While Steve channeled his loss and grief into sport—ultimately competing in the 2008 Paralympics—I turned inward, finding healing and meaning through storytelling and painting.
What began as a means of survival—simply making marks on a page—slowly became a daily practice, and ultimately, a profound personal transformation. That journey has led to the creation of thousands of painted stories and the publication of ten books, with more still unfolding.
Through art and story, I’ve transformed my pain into something meaningful—work that nourishes my heart and soul every day, and now connects me to other beating hearts, and hopefully now, yours too.
DANIELLE DANIEL is a writer and artist, an award-winning author and illustrator of ten books, and a finalist for the 2024 Governor General Literary Awards. She writes books for children and adults. She was an elementary school teacher for several years and now writes and paints stories in her studio full-time.
Her books have been highly acclaimed across the genres. From her memoir, to her historical fiction novel about the lives of her Ancestors, her middle grade novel set in the 80s, her many picture books, which she has written and/or illustrated, and her latest publication is her debut novel-in-verse about her love for the night sky.
Her artwork delves into the exploration of childhood, particularly the transformative middle years. Through her paintings, she examines the enduring presence of the inner child and its connection to both the natural world and the world beyond.
While her artistic practice occasionally extends to landscapes and still life, her primary focus remains on representative portraiture, where she continues to explore themes of identity, emotion, and the enduring presence of the inner child.
Her artwork continues to evolve and similar to her writing, she simplifies concepts with an economy of detail and line, though colour is always at the heart of all her artwork.
She lives on beautiful Mnidoo Mnis, (Manitoulin Island) the largest freshwater island in the world, without a single traffic light and among a large family of cedars, a husk of hares and a fifty-year-old Blanding’s turtle who visits quite regularly.
Photo Credits: Nur Yilmaz from Pexels / Chanillewhite
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