July Spotlight Artist: Danielle Barlow

The Whoa Team spotlight artist interview this month is Danielle Barlow from Devon, England. Drop in on her blog, Notes from the Rookery, or her Etsy Store, you will be delighted by what you find!

---

How long have you been selling on Etsy?
Since the beginning of 2008.

What do you like about selling on Etsy?
I love that it is such a vibrant arts and crafts community. It is a great looking site, easily navigable and with loads of great features, especially the treasuries! Oh, and the fees are very reasonable - particularly when you consider what you would have to pay a gallery in commission.

What are your earliest memories of creating equine art?
We had a book of Thelwell cartoons when I was very young, and I spent hours painstakingly copying his drawings. I was probably about 6 at the time.

What is your favorite medium?
Watercolour, for it's luminosity and unpredictability, and Indian Ink, used with a dipping pen, because I love the liberating spontaneity it gives my drawings ( I have a tendency to get bogged down in unnecessary detail if I am not stopped!)

What artists have influenced your work or provided inspiration?
Many artists, but it always tended to be the illustrators who made the greatest impression. I grew up on a diet of Arthur Rackam, Edmund Dulac and Aubrey Beardsley. These days I have a growing collection of children's books, unable to resist the beautiful illustrations. My favourites are Charles Keeping (whose illustrations for Alfred Noyes poem, 'The Highwayman' are absolutely awesome!),
Errol le Cain and Helen Ward.

Please tell us a little about your pets.
Oh, there are several!
Magpie, a Labrador collie cross, my faithful shadow!
Beetlejuice and Miu, two cats.
Red, my beautiful 15hh appaloosa , nearing 20, but still a handful!
Matthew and Foggy, my girls ponies, 12.3hh and 11.3hh respectively, middle aged geldings,
Marlene, a 4 year old Dartmoor mare, and Sandpiper , a 2 year old Dartmoor x Highland filly.