Danielle Mckinney’s rich, textured portraits mirror our relationship to rest and reimagination
I don't know about you, but smoking certainly makes me contemplative. I find myself thinking about life, the universe, God, the state of the world and my place in it. What about my contributions? My legacy? Am I really impacting in the way that I intend to, in a way that leaves the world better than I found it? I must say, identifying as a woman who consumes cannabis has not always been easy. There have not been very many reflections of myself in art with regard to this practice that I’ve been able to identify with.
Until I discovered her work. This medium, these oil paintings in which Danielle depicts women in their solitude, is so brilliant and so rich. I love the dark tone of these pieces, I love the use of red that warms the lips and the hands of her subjects. I love the way the smoke dances over deep expression. Or sits still like a gripping thought. And it really shifts something in me.
Art and spirituality are so intricately linked. And that's so evident in her body of work. Our way of being is spiritual. I would even argue that rest is spiritual since it entices our imagination and invites dreams connecting us to other worlds, worlds of our own design.
‘We Don’t Always Have to Be Sexual’ Danielle McKinney on Her Potent Portraits of Feminine Solitude
Smoking has not always been seen as feminine. But when I think about the fact that the act of ruminating in your thoughts, welcoming those thoughts to fill room there has to be a level of surrender to that process. I love that you can walk away from her work wondering what these women must've been thinking. It prompts you to reflect on your own inner dialogue with an air of curiosity. What conversation are you having with yourself when the world fades to the background?
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