Danya Bayomi
About The Artist
My journey with art started in college when I chose to major in interior design hoping it would fulfill my need for a creative outlet. I wouldn’t be able to sit through my classes without doodling in my sketchbooks. When I graduated, my intention was to work in interior design and start a side business with my illustrations and put them on products to sell. One day I was approached by a friend who was opening up a coffee shop and was interested in someone painting a mural for the shop and I said yes! And 6 years later I am still painting murals! I never thought that that would be the trajectory that my art would take and I actually find it quite difficult to design anything on a smaller scale now.
Currently, I’ve left my interior design career and pursued a masters in product and furniture design hoping to bridge the gap between my art and design. I love designing and making quirky absurd objects with an emphasis on mixing materials and different art techniques and hope to open my own furniture business soon!
Question
How did you get started with creating art?
I used to always be bored in class and doodle in my notebook, and would always get into trouble and be asked to leave the classroom. No matter how many times I was kicked out of class, it never dimmed my budding love for art. Then for University, I chose to major in interior design hoping that it would fulfill my need for a creative outlet. Thankfully, it worked! I wouldn’t be able to sit through my classes without doodling in my sketchbooks.
When I graduated, my intention was to work in interior design and start a passion project business with my illustrations and put them on products to sell. As we all know, life rarely goes according to plan. One day I was approached by a friend who was opening up a coffee shop and was interested in someone painting a mural for the shop and asked if I would be willing to do so. Of course, I said yes! Six years later, here we are. I am still painting murals and it has given me opportunities and the ability to create in ways that hadn’t ever occurred to me! I never thought that that would be the trajectory that my art would take and I actually find it quite difficult to design anything on a smaller scale now.
Question
How would you describe your artistic style? Has it changed?
My style has definitely changed over the years. When I first began, my style was very bohemian and feminine and I only liked to do work that was visually minimal – usually in black and white. My current style has developed exponentially and is safe to say that it is quite the opposite. As my journey continued I wanted to experiment with and explore creating harmony between patterns, shapes and colors.
This further developed from wanting to go from two dimensional to three dimensional, combining art and furniture design. This allowed me to look at using different materials across different mediums. If you asked me today I would say ‘the more colors the better’! As for the illustration styles that I currently most gravitate towards, they are definitely more grunge and urban.
Question
Where do you usually find inspiration for your works?
As any artist, I find inspiration from my life. I draw ideas and concepts from my surroundings, relationships, experiences, travel, culture – the list is endless. In today’s extremely global and technically connected world I find that I am inspired by online content online and sometimes ideas just pop into my mind.
Question
What do you hope your audience will get from your work?
As with any artist, we operate on emotion and connection. Our comfort zone is that which you cannot touch or see – something that transcends our physical world. We draw inspiration from everything around us and try to make sense of the human condition/emotion/connection – however you want to define it. What that is, is not for me to say, but if I can create something that someone can look at and feel happy, sad, excited, inspired, something that makes them FEEL. What I most enjoy about my work is I strive to put colors, shapes and ideas that wouldn’t normally work together. I want to create something different, something that will show people it doesn’t matter what they think fits or works. I create a symphony of shape and color and inspire them to do something similar in their own lives.