BIO:
Born in a small gold rush-conceived town in California, between the state capitol and Lake Tahoe, the artist began life in a particularly out-of-the-ordinary fashion. The tiny wood-framed hospital was a converted home nestled in a pine forest at the edge of a river canyon. Weighing in at two pounds, eleven ounces – and three months early, Danforth apparently found waiting the proper gestation period somewhat inconvenient. No small task for his parents, the ‘wienie with arms and legs’ as his delivery doctor dubbed him, realized normal development eluded his physical maturity and therefore he focused quite early on reading, drawing and creative tasks. His parents found wall drawings and crayon creations about the house disconcerting, to say the least. Ironically, little did the concept of making a living with such adornments settle into minds till decades later.
Educated in northern California, Danforth pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts, after which he began the task of trying everything out there, occupation-wise, to sample as much as the world had to offer his small-town perspective. Over the next thirty years, a myriad of artistic experiences passed through his world. Danforth first began as an illustration artist for a small printing firm. That led to an illustration commitment in Paris, France, where the distraction of countless museums and art salons fed the creative hunger and passions in his heart. In the years since, this artisan has found creative outlets in such expressions as finish carpentry/cabinet making and the related arts of veneers and surface materials. Through this, antique restoration, furniture making and design, custom furniture finishes and interior design and coloration grew. In the meantime, participation in ownership and design in a fabric silkscreen business put a colorful and whimsical face to the garment industry, particularly to children’s designs. Along the way, remodeling and refinishing old homes and converting attics and garages to master bedrooms and playrooms – altering spaces to become more enjoyable and spatially efficient helped vent some of the creative expressions that Danforth craved. He tried the corporate world briefly, in being a ‘communications artist’, or simply said, anything that needed to be drawn for a corporation, in southern California. This entailed all visual publicity, whether magazine ads or industry newsletters, product descriptions and illustrations, in-house product diagrams and materials descriptions, illustrations, framed art presentation gifts, etc. It was quite interesting, but not creatively challenging enough.
Eventually, the artist found himself in the historic south, working for a gifted artisan creating furniture, altering residences, and restoring antique furniture. Simply said, it was idyllic. Job excursions led to Savannah (incredible, almost storybook), Atlanta (so much history), Charleston (how the love of the sea enticed), Sea Island (beautiful salt marshes), and Augusta (yup, Caucasian lawn jockeys). It was in this occupation relationship that Danforth met the world of faux finish, fantasy finish, trompe l’oeuille and mural painting.
He was home.
While working for the furniture maker and faux finish master during this life’s tour of duty, the artist found some of his creations appearing in the 1995 Christmas edition of Southern Accents, and later through this same talented interior design client, appearing on Lynette Jennings House Smart (The Discovery Channel) over the second half of that decade.
Relocating to San Antonio, Texas, to sample the gracious Alamo spirit and test the artistic tide in the Lone Star state, Danforth established himself into an appreciative and open reception to a locally somewhat new design concept. In a relatively short amount of time, his work has graced the homes and businesses of some of the most creative and grand-hearted folks in the city.
