The Inner Child
Introducing my new body of work
My goal this summer was to paint ten paintings I was proud of, a cohesive collection of paintings, a portfolio that I could submit to a gallery, because I want to paint much larger. I ended up with twelve. These paintings are inspired by the drawings I did last autumn, (and still drawing) some of them in my sketchbooks and others I drew digitally on my iPad, which I shared in a previous post.
I’m SO EXCITED to unveil this new body of work!
These paintings are inspired by the inner child.
Something that I’ve been thinking about for a long while now. As a children’s book author and illustrator, I often think about the reasons why I write and why I’m so drawn to children’s literature, and while I’ve now accumulated a long list of reasons, one of the main ones is about my own inner child. Painting them has been an act of love toward myself — a gift to my own inner child who had to learn too quickly how to be grown. She is the same part of me that has devoted her life to children’s literature, because writing and painting these stories is my way of turning pain into hope and hope into something tangible. Hope that still lives and thrives inside my heart, despite everything.
You might also notice that there is a moon in every single painting. Something that I added quite deliberately and from the very start.
Welcome to —ONE MOON—My New Series
The following is the ‘official statement’ for this work:
ONE MOON is large series of oil paintings in progress on wooden panels, portraying the inner child. Influenced by Daniel’s bestselling and award-winning books, these painted stories honour our shared humanity and speak to the quiet, enduring hope that still lives inside each of us, no matter how deeply it may be buried. ONE MOON is a celebration of the inner child—our unbreakable link to self, and the threads that tie us—gently and powerfully—to one another under our shared moon.
Who are these paintings for?
I see these paintings as honouring the child in you — the one who never stopped believing in dreams, who still carries wonder and hope like a secret language. They’re for the part of you that remembers how it felt to wish on a star, to believe in the impossible, to see magic in the everyday.
They could also be for a child in your own life. A gift of story, colour and love to accompany them as they grow. A reminder that it’s okay to imagine boldly, to feel deeply, to believe in their own superpowers.
Mostly, I hope they make you feel something deep inside your heart. That they invite you to pause. That they connect you to a part of yourself you may have tucked away. And that, when you look at them, you see both who you were and who you still are.
See every painting I’ve created so far in the new studio! I’ve added some of the smaller paintings to my online shop, available NOW.
Thank you for journeying here with me. I utterly LOVE writing here and sharing on Substack and I look forward to all that’s to come. (Don’t miss my next Substack post — the announcement I’ve been waiting to share!)
View available paintings here.
Take care dear hearts.
Love,
Danielle xo
I adore the colours and the facial expressions. I think mine are starting to peek out from behind the trees.
They do make me feel like my inner child is in a safe room to come out. Thank you for sharing these paintings, Danielle. So much beauty and heart connection 💛