Danielle Mckinney

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 L. Hendricks and Kerry James Marshall inspire her. Both had a huge influence on Black American portraiture.

Mckinney's paintings show the importance of private rituals – religious or otherwise. She says, "throughout my life, I’ve struggled to find where I fit in". Rituals provided a space for Mckinney to exist, calmly. This sentiment is reflected in the senses she paints. While several women hold crucifix necklaces, some are busy with beauty regimes. In Face Mask with Prayer (2021), a topless figure in a face mask sits on a bed with a painting of Christ in the background. In Mckinney's world, the bedroom is as good a space for silent meditation as the church.