DANI HUMBERSTONE

BIOGRAPHY

I was born in London in 1965, and educated at Michael Hall School (a Rudolph Steiner School in East Sussex.)

I then trained as a fashion designer and developed a design business for which I won the Princes Youth Business Trust award from The Princes Trust.

I have also worked freelance in graphic design & book illustration. Art and/or design clients include; nightclubs, a Japanese corporation based in Tokyo, Authors, BT (in house magazine), restaurants, an osteopathic clinic, psychotherapy treatment rooms, offices and reception areas, waiting rooms and schools - including a commission from Glaxo Smith Kline to paint a 40'+ solar system as part of an Art in Science project.

For ten years I owned and did the artwork for a greetings card publishing company called "Cards That Won't Cost The Earth". Customers included; Boots The Chemist, Athena, Paperchase, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Books Etc., and Waterstones. I also exported all over the world.

In the last few years I have worked as a gallery manager and curator and am currently on the board of a prestigious Sussex based fine art open exhibition.

I have and do exhibit my work in galleries in the southeast and London, art fairs, opens and group exhibitions. Every year I take part in the "South East Open Studios" (Arts Council funded) where artists open their studios to the public for two weeks every summer.

I do a small amount of tutoring and occasionally conduct a workshop or a talk.

I currently own an art shop with my studio attached on the high street in Wadhurst, East Sussex.

I do paint in all media but primarily work in oils on canvas. My work is for sale, prices start at around £200. Commissions are more than welcome with prices on application. Paintings will come unframed but ready to hang unless otherwise stipulated or requested.

Please contact me if you would like any more information.

+44 1892 785942

The Studio
The Art Shop
High Street
Wadhurst
East Sussex
TN5 6AJ
UK

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

The majority of my current work is based on a personal form of abstract expressionism. A style of abstract art originally centred largely in New York in the mid 1950’s, many of the exponents being Russian or European immigrants.

Many of the artists had a general interest in myth as a way into understanding the human psyche, the forces of nature and the "human condition". Artists of the time included: Marc Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Lee Krasner, Clyfford Still, Willem de Kooning and Barnett Newman.

I am drawn to this movement because it is how I work instinctively. I am led through the process of making a painting, balancing colour and form. I use very strong colours - juxtaposed, in harmony or as a glaze, using the relationship and tension this creates to give the painting its energy. I like to suggest a light source coming from within the work itself.

As a painter it is my aim to communicate in a direct and personal way. Colour is an immediate language that is more felt than comprehended and allows the artist to speak with subtlety and strength.

I don't usually make sketches (unless required to do so by a client) or even pre-plan paintings and work directly with paint on to the canvas.

Beauty is hugely important to me and essential in my work. Making a painting that is both beautiful and powerful is at the heart of what I do.

My current work combines realism with an element of the abstract, as a way to describe this work I call it “Synchromatic Realism”. For me the work indicates “the acceptance of difference”, with the subjects acting as a mutual reply and inspiration to each other.
The result is an almost surreal image. I have chosen to place the subjects in a 17th century inspired background. I use candlelight as the principal light source, which gives a strong warm light and throws very dark shadows. The darker background colours project the painted subjects forward.

I would like the observer to be part of the process of making art. The feelings inspired by the painting make it a personal experience whilst giving it both validity and significance.