Daisy Emerson is a British artist specialising in hand painted type and lettering. She primarily uses the method of traditional sign writing and gilding to produce beautiful handcrafted words, often on luxurious materials such as polished or honed marble stone, as well as brass and lacquered wood.
Daisy has a highly distinctive style with her signature pastel colour palette, with pink being one of the most consistently used colours in her work. More often she will also lovingly hand finish most of her pieces with gold leaf. Here, we spend a day in the life of Daisy Emerson, from morning dog walks to prioritising family time in the evenings.
MY ALARM GOES OFF…
Usually my alarm goes off about 6am these days, I’ll get up and hopefully exercise (if I’m feeling like it) and then I always try and head to my studio for about 9.30am. I try to plan my day the night before so I’ve got a set agenda and I use my time wisely as I don’t have as much time to dedicate to my studio as I used to these days. I’ll write a list the night before and I’ll usually try and plan a post for Instagram if I’m organised enough. I’m a big fan of a list and I like to think I’m pretty organised, I have so many lists in fact.
HOW I STARTED LIFE AS AN ARTIST…
I was always really interested in art from a young age, constantly drawing or painting and generally being creative. I went to Central Saint Martins as soon as I left school, I remember always wanting to go there from the age of about 15, it was such a dream for me. I think it was always a given that I would pursue a career as an artist, however I didn’t always do what I do now. I ended up working in the creative sector for about 10 years doing production, events and managing lots of other creatives. This was really good in terms of learning and definitely gave me some useful experience for what I do now, but it was never my passion! I was a very frustrated creative for a very long time, so I was pleased when I finally made the leap about 5 years ago to go full time artist. It was such a huge decision for me at the time, but it was probably the best thing I’ve done in terms of my career path. I’m so happy to be doing what I do now and working for myself doing something I really love.
MY TYPICAL DAY…
My typical day starts with a morning walk with my dog and my little boy through the beautiful woodland and nearby parks where I live. We moved out of London to Kent just over a year ago and I haven’t looked back. I find this walk sets me up for the day, it’s peaceful and calm and I’m able to think through the different projects and ideas I’ve got going on. It gives me clarity and is good for my busy mind! I’ll then head to my studio if I have a studio day, it’s in Ashdown Forest so again it’s in a lovely setting and it’s fairly big so I can make a mess here and get into multiple projects at once. It’s the first time since I started working as a full time artist that I’ve been able to have my studio space separate from my home. It’s really nice to be able to leave work out and come back to it when I can without being confined to a small space or having to clear away at the end of each day.
MY MOST MEMORABLE ARTISTIC MOMENT…
I think this was probably my first big job as an artist when I’d just started out. I used to paint quite big wall murals and I did a piece on a wall in Carnaby Street, I was so nervous and convinced something would go wrong, but I managed it and it was the best feeling once it was completed. I really got such a buzz out of it and that was the start of more bigger things to come for me. I’ve not painted a mural or anything that big in absolutely ages as I tend to just concentrate on smaller pieces in my studio these days, but I’d love to do something of a larger scale again for sure.
THE WORST PART OF BEING AN ARTIST…
I think the worst part of being an artist is the solitude, I am really used to working alone in my studio but some days it can be quite challenging! It can be hard to feel confident in what you’re doing sometimes especially if you’re alone but you have to just try and push through it or concentrate on a different task. Creative block can be pretty bad too, especially when you’re under pressure to produce something for a client brief.
THE BEST PART OF BEING AN ARTIST…
I really love it when I get an amazing reaction or a lovely message from someone who has either purchased my work or received their commission from me. It genuinely is such a positive thing as it makes you feel really good and assured of what you’re doing. I like to think all of the work I produce is both optimistic and hopeful in terms of the words and phrases I use. If this can bring comfort to someone, or if someone is able to relate to a piece of mine because of the word and the aesthetic, then it’s such a wonderful feeling.
AFTER I CLOSE MY STUDIO DOOR AT THE END OF THE DAY…
I’ll head home to my family where my evenings are either spent catching up on some admin and probably adding to those lists ready for the next day. I will also try and get some relaxation time which seems to be quite rare these days.
IF I WASN’T AN ARTIST, I WOULD BE...
I would be an Interior Designer & Stylist. I love interiors and I would say this is my other passion, it’s most definitely an extension of my creativity. I’d also quite like to be a florist too as I love flowers!
