Rising From The Ashes

How Lisa Danielle Turned Tragedy Into a New Beginning for Her Art and Career

“I’m looking at my new living room/gallery, and I’m just so proud of it,” says Sedona, Arizona still life painter Lisa Danielle, standing before a vintage barrister’s bookcase that’s been in her family for generations. It originally belonged to her great-grandfather and is now filled with treasured artifacts she has collected during the course of her long career: boots, vintage books, beadwork, baskets, and pottery. Her work depicting those same objects covers the newly painted walls.

It’s characteristic of Danielle, who relies on her deep Christian faith to help her make sense of the otherwise inexplicable, both in history and life, to emphasize the positive. Almost two years after a fire destroyed her studio and much of its contents, she’s still rebuilding.

The fire was a life-upending event for Danielle, who had to stepaway from attending shows and producing new work in order to process what happened and to direct the rebuild. She found herself thinking about the phrase “cowgirl up,” made famous by the annual Cowgirl Up! art exhibit that was founded 21 years ago and that she has participated in for the past 19 years.

Read the full article in the November/December 2026 issue.