Dani Gray

About the Artist

Dani Gray is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in the Pacific Northwest. Her work spans atmospheric abstract landscapes, assemblage, and collage — often drawing from the region’s moody skies, shifting light, and deep emotional undercurrents.

Deeply influenced by the region’s moody skies and shifting natural light, she creates atmospheric work that feels rooted in place yet exists in a state of searching. These landscapes are not just where she feels most at home — they are portals, reflections of her ongoing exploration for belonging.

As a neurodivergent artist (AuDHD), Dani has lived with a lifelong sense of being “other” — alien, as though she is not truly of this world. The effort required to mask and navigate a society that rarely considers different neurotypes has taken a profound toll, contributing to chronic illness, mental health struggles and fibromyalgia. This lived reality informs her work, which often carries a quiet, solitary quality and a sense of looking beyond the horizon for light, connection, and possibility.

Whether capturing the quiet power of a gray winter or confronting urgent social issues through activist art, Dani’s practice is rooted in accessibility and emotional truth. She believes in the healing power of creativity and is committed to sharing that with others, inviting viewers into moments of reflection, connection, and transformation.

“When I paint, I am creating worlds; in collage, I try to make sense of this one.”

I have always loved making. Before I even knew art as it exists in the world, I was making things. Creativity has been my constant — my refuge, my voice, and sometimes, my lifeline. Even when the path forward felt unclear, the need to create was always there, guiding me. For some, being an artist might mean working in one medium with a clear, singular focus. For me, the path has been far more layered — and far more interesting.

I’ve followed many creative threads over the years: watercolor, encaustic, oil painting, photography, poetry, clothing alteration, zine making… the list goes on. But collage was one of my first loves — and remains one of my most enduring forms of expression. The tactile act of rearranging fragments into new meaning has helped me navigate the world, especially as a neurodivergent (AuDHD) artist trying to make sense of systems that rarely make space for me.

I’ve lived most of my life with a pervasive feeling of being “other” — alien, as though I am not of this world and don’t truly belong to it. The emotional and physical work it takes to mask and function in a society built for neurotypical norms comes at great cost, contributing to chronic illness, mental health struggles and fibromyalgia. These realities shape my work. My paintings are often lonely, cold, and full of searching or longing — reaching toward other places, exploring imagined landscapes.

I’ve never followed a traditional route. I am self-taught across every medium I’ve explored, pouring hundreds of hours into research and learning by doing. That process has been as transformative as any finished piece.

Art, to me, is more than decoration or personal therapy. It is a vital tool for healing, communication, activism, and cultural preservation. It can cross divides, shift narratives, and make space for radical empathy. Art saved my life — and I believe it can save others, too.

Each piece I create is a small act of reclaiming space, of sharing wonder, of offering an alternative way of seeing. My work is deeply rooted in the moody, gray-skied beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and often explores themes of memory, resilience, and the in-between. Whether I’m painting atmospheric abstractions or building layered collages, I aim to invite viewers into a space that feels both tender and true — like catching your breath in the middle of a storm.