Danielle Weber takes larger-than-life icons and makes them even more so – by painting them on large murals and walls. There is a grandeur to these renditions, and there is also something intensely personal about how she brings these faces to life, and how she adds something to the features most of us know so well.
Danielle’s work is followed by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. With more than 226,000 Instagram followers (as of November 2024), 167K TikTok likes, and 31,000 Facebook followers, she is a social media phenomenon. Her celebrity paintings and murals include renditions of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2Pac, Bob Marley, Eminem, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, Rihanna, and Wonder Woman.
Art Style
A mural is a very unique art form. It is created on a hard, unyielding canvas, and it is more accessible than any other: everyone sees a mural, there is no barrier to entry. Universality is a key theme of Danielle’s art: when you see the characters immortalized on giant walls, it doesn’t matter whether they’re famous or not, because you feel like you connect with them on a personal level. Even though millions of people will see the same work of art, you feel like you’re having a moment with the subject of each mural when you see it.
Danielle’s murals also feel 3D in a way that shouldn’t really be possible, but somehow is. They glow and burst into life in front of you, like larger-than-life versions of pop-up books. In the same way, they awaken the inner child in you – the emotion of joy is the one most commonly associated with most people who view her works. She brings the intimacy of a portrait into the epic canvas of a mural.
Danielle enjoys painting eyes – the windows to the soul – more than any other features. She believes that she can tell stories through her renditions of the eyes, and use them to connect with her audience and create power and beauty. This is probably one of the biggest lessons she has learnt during her time as a painter.
Funnily enough, even though she drew a lot as a child, drawing on paper is not something she is naturally accustomed to, and she still finds it difficult. Ironically, she prefers painting large scale murals as compared to smaller drafts. When she works on a large wall painting, she doesn’t start with an exact replica or a rough sketch on paper; rather, there is an extensive design process where she works directly with the client. This process includes reference hunting, mood boards and digital mockups, making the execution of the artwork more seamless.
Murals of Iconic Sportspeople
Some of Danielle’s most popular murals feature some of the world’s greatest athletes. She has always been able to depict them at moments of great triumph, or in moments when they are in deep contemplation of greatness, operating at a level that most of us will never understand. From combat sports fighters to basketball icons, she does it all.
Looking back, Danielle definitely sees a parallel between her choice of subject matter and her priorities in life. Today, physical fitness is a huge part of who she is, but it has also always been. Growing up, sport was always an outlet. She sometimes struggled to focus in the classroom, but always felt like she belonged when playing tennis, touch rugby, running, aerobics, football, or soccer. She also loves watching any and all sports – with boxing and Mixed Martial Arts being recent healthy obsessions. For Danielle, it is an honour to be able to paint athletes that she admires.
Most importantly, she understands the dedication and sacrifice that being an athlete requires. The mental battles, the highs, the lows, being misunderstood by almost everyone, and all the other challenges – Danielle has talked with world-famous athletes about this, she has experienced it while playing sports, and it mirrors her own experience while following her star to become a full-time artist. She has the utmost respect for anyone that is relentlessly dedicated to their craft.
In this vein, she has also created large scale paintings of titans of the entertainment industry, people who have turned hustle into an art form, whose creativity and hard work have inspired billions. She has met many of them, and she definitely has experiences that prove that it’s completely okay to meet your heroes, because they’re usually as legendary as they seem. For example, she realised that The Rock was, in person, exactly like how he portrayed himself online – gracious, funny, kind, and selfless. When she met him, he was very busy – but she still noted, with gratitude, how he made everyone feel like he had time for them.
Staying Inspired and Providing Inspiration
Danielle’s art celebrates the power of hard work and perseverance. And it’s definitely more about showing than telling – even the captions of her post make you want to work on something great of your own, rather than telling you to. For her, it’s as important to keep herself in the best possible shape – mentally and physically – so that she can be the best version of herself. Paradoxically, being disciplined affords her great freedom in making choices in both her personal and professional lives.
A key part of her self care regime is training and movement. Over the years, Danielle has learnt to prioritise daily training, and it is now a non-negotiable part of her life. She also protects her energy fiercely, and implements clear boundaries. She also takes care of her body and mind by being very careful of what she eats.
Danielle is inspired by everything around her, with fellow artists being one of her top sources of motivation. She is also very mindful about giving back to artists starting out, endeavouring to be a great role model. Danielle wants to pave the way and show them that it IS possible to make art a viable career pathway. She finds that personal and professional growth is the biggest motivator possible.
Perseverance
As of 2024, Danielle has been an artist – part time or full time – for 14 years. She went to University for a double degree, and worked two jobs to support her studies. She still found time to follow her artistic passion, and slowly built up a dedicated clientele by doing canvas commissions whenever she got time.
She graduated in 2015, but she had a rude shock, almost failing art! The next year, she started working on her first large-scale solo murals, and learned as she was going. Looking back, Danielle admits that she had no idea what she was doing, but she kept going anyway; this attitude is one that has always stood her in good stead. As an eternal learner, she also mentors upcoming artists through her artist community, The D Collective.
She finally managed to spend time painting consistently starting in 2018, when she worked out of her parents’ kitchen. It was like fire in her blood, and Danielle still remembers working 20 hours a day when a project really spoke to her. People took notice, and by 2021 she was doing well enough to buy her own studio.
Building an Art Community
Danielle genuinely loves helping other artists. She didn’t have a mentor or much guidance on her journey, though she is very grateful for the abundance of family support she enjoyed. When she needed specific knowledge that only an experienced artist could have given her, it was often incredibly isolating. Changing the narrative for artists is something she is extremely passionate about to this day.
She has always tried to help as many people and as closely as possible, though the number of people she can assist in person is limited by the ever-growing demand for new murals. That’s exactly why she loves interacting with artists through her online community, having conversations through Instagram, Facebook, and lots of voice messages and DMs offering support and advice. She also offers one-on-one coaching and shadowing.
In her mentorship posts on The D Collective page, Danielle answers some of the questions she wishes she could’ve asked an industry expert as she came up, including common mistakes made by artists, dealing with burnout, managing the business side of things, getting feedback from clients, staying motivated, and dealing with demanding design briefs.
Career Highs and Lows
Even though Danielle had consistent success starting in 2018, there were still challenges. Following a series of incredible career highlights in 2022, she hit an all time low in early 2023, one that had her contemplating walking away from her art. Fortunately, she got through it – but there have been multiple occasions over her career where she has felt defeated, like she was on the wrong pathway. Over time, she has learnt to look at these tough times as blessings in disguise, and prioritises learning from them. Each challenge helps build her as an artist and as a person.
And there have been millions of highs, from big name clients to heartwarming feedback from clients, other artists, and fans, to the satisfaction that comes from being able to do what she does full time. One of her most personal triumphs was a long time coming, but Danielle can finally say no to work she doesn’t want to do.
In the future, Danielle looks forward to expanding her artist community by building a “one stop shop” platform which is inclusive and educational for all creatives. She also looks forward to bringing out her own range of paint and art equipment.
Danielle is just as healthily obsessed with art as she was on Day 1, and she can’t wait for what’s next.
Links
Danielle Weber: Website: https://daniellesartwork.com/.
Danielle Weber: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellesartwork/.
Danielle Weber: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daniellesartwork.
Danielle Weber: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellesartworks/.
Danielle Weber: Twitter/X: https://x.com/@DWartwork.
The D Collective: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedcollective_/.