A Bit About Me

Hello there and thanks so much for visiting! I am Danielle, owner and instructor of Traveling Sisters Painting.  Just a fun fact to start out, Traveling Sisters Painting really could be called “ The Reluctant Llama Painting”! Not even joking. See, there was this one time I found myself reluctantly attending a Wine & Paint party. Reluctant because while creating is the thing that fuels my soul, I've never really thought of myself as a canvas painter. However, I do consider myself an occasional wine drinker and a good friend/aunt-in-law so I clicked “yes” on the RSVP and headed to a Llama painting night. What happened next led to the reason you are here!

As I painted my Llama I discovered a true passion for painting on canvas. A passion I did not know was in me. Sitting at that party I found something that quieted my soul and lit my fire at the same time. I didn't want to leave and even offered to pay for another seat so I could paint more (imagine a toddler fit in a store when told no...okay, maybe I wasn't that bad but it was close). Over the next few days I found myself viewing everything in terms of painting...and I mean everything. Sunsets. Sunrises. Yard decorations. Dogs. Cats. Cows. You name it and I wanted to paint it. Laundry time? My brain went...."hey can that laundry soap container be cute...on canvas?"  That is when I understood that I needed to do something with this desire and passion for painting.

​I have started “craft” businesses before but I quickly discovered that creating for others on demand took the joy out of crafting for me. So those businesses never really lasted because the fire and desire to continue them just faded so quickly. But this "paint party thing" is definitely my jam. 

​My background is varied and my experience extensive. In my 20's and early 30's I was a medical assistant. After giving birth to my son I opened my own in home daycare/preschool and worked with children (from newborn to age 10) for 17 years. Throughout all of these years and two wonderful careers, I have had a love of making things with my own hands, a lot of heart and a lot of practice and research. But that Llama? That Llama painting changed everything. 

 As I started painting more, it didn’t take long before my sisters were sitting as my "pretend" party! And that's when I discovered I like teaching painting too! Those sister practice parties turned into my friends painting with me... and then their friends... and then my friends kids. Something amazing happened - I discovered what I hadn’t been able to find before: a way to combine my love of painting & creating with my desire to share creating with others. And I've been given new ideas for paintings so I am not reduced to wanting to paint laundry soap containers on canvas. 

TSP's five year anniversary is coming up in 2024 and a lot has changed in those five years. I have moved TSP from Arizona Indiana and have a studio for painters to host their paint parties! I'm feeling pretty blessed to be on the path I am these days. And I love painting with people! 

A final little tidbit, why Traveling Sisters Painting for the name? That’s an easy answer, I cannot imagine doing life without my sisters. They are not part of my business full time, but they are my “ride-or-die” ladies for life. I am so blessed that they support me and my traveling art studio in so many ways. Sometimes that means they come to parties to help out. And behind the scenes, they send me ideas for paint parties and spread the word about what I do. They keep me on track and see a bigger picture than I could have ever imagined. They offer honest feedback, encouraging words, wisdom and love. I recruited my sisters to join me, because life is just better with sisters, and because Traveling Sister Painting just sounds lonely without the “s”.