bio
"For the painter, there is no place like a well-lit studio with windows that let the sky in—where light washes away the worries of the world outside and vibrates in color."
Dani Knoph Davis is a wildlife artist based in Northern Michigan.
Making time to be in nature and learn about Michigan wildlife inspires Dani’s work. Her detailed watercolor illustrations are an expression of reverence for wildlife and ecology. Growing up in Michigan, Dani cherished time on the lake, looking for bass and turtles, observing tiny clams and snails making marks in the sand, and searching for Monarch caterpillars in the meadows. After attending the School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, Dani relocated to Seattle. Inspired by historical artists of natural history, such as Maria Sibylla Merian, she began learning the process of layering transparent watercolor washes after graduating art school in 2009. She illustrated and sold her first collection of Pacific Northwest salmon paintings at Urban Hardwoods in Seattle in 2012.
In the summer of 2012, Dani felt like a salmon, and so she returned to the place where she was born, Michigan. She launched her art studio in 2017 and calls Northern Michigan 'Home'. She continues to develop a large collection of Michigan wildlife illustrations including trout, turtles, butterflies, birds, flowers, and trees. Prints of her wildlife illustrations can be found at specialty shops and galleries in Michigan.
Dani received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Michigan and studied painting at the Glasgow School of Art.
PRESS & MEDIA
Creativity Q&A with Dani Knoph Davis, interview with Sarah Bear-up Neal, Glen Arbor Art Center
Making It: 3 Wildly Creative Northern Michigan Illustrators, written by Molly Korroch
