Born in Los Angeles, CA, Danie Cansino has long term aspirations to help and teach others through the means of higher education, and through the creation and design of her own artwork and tattoos. Danielle attended Rio Hondo College, shortly after her first apprenticeship for tattooing in 2013, to hone her drawing skills and specialize in Portrait Realism. In her time there, she was invited to exhibit in the American Museum of Ceramic Art Student Exhibition, the Rio Hondo Gallery Student Show, and Chronos Gallery of Downtown Los Angeles.

In 2017, Danielle graduated from Laguna College of Art and Design, where She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting, with an Emphasis in Sculpture. After graduation in 2018 Danielle began tattooing full time as a resident artist at Mi Familia Tattoo Studio, where she specializes in color and black and grey realism. In fall of 2019, Danielle began her candidacy for Masters of Fine Art, attending the University of Southern California. In examining her own culture, and her experience around tattooed people, Danielle has become interested in the camaraderie, and also prejudices that tattooed people encounter. Clients, peers, and her personal mentors all have stories to tell– that show the impact a tattoo can have on lifestyle, family, education, employment, and careers. Danielle shares these stories; and shines light on lineage, tradition, and the hardships of this practice. Tattooing, very much like all the elements of her work, is a major part of the history of her culture, and hometown of Los Angeles.

@daniecansino

Dodger Blue’s lush monochrome landscape presents a snapshot of Los Angeles’ Chavez Ravine community, now the site of Dodger Stadium, transporting the viewer back in the history of both LA and and Cansino’s own family. The title refers to Los Angeles’ beloved baseball team, the establishment of which has left behind a legacy of displacement. Cansino’s great-grandfather resided in the Chavez Ravine until development for Dodger Stadium uprooted residents, catalyzing an ongoing displacement throughout the city. Dynamic pen strokes create the feeling of recalling that which is only known in images and stories – the picture of something often recalled, yet no longer tangible. Cansino’s choice of materials further speaks to the impermanence of these memories, and to the Dodger’s quotidian and complex legacy; lined paper and ballpoint pen are simple tools that we use to make our thoughts and words and ideas tangible, yet they are easily destroyed or disposed of. Cansino transforms accessible materials she encounters into an object of preciousness and considerable scale, lifting them out of mundanity without betraying their character nor their role in record-keeping. Dodger Blue offers a layered reflection into the histories of displacement and diaspora in Los Angeles, skillfully rendered through the artist’s own personal recollections. – Jordan Gonzalez