When someone can quickly identify a specific emotion with one glance at your portrait, you know you must be doing something right.

That’s what happened at one of Danielle Piloto's shows, when a woman walked up to her laughing. She'd recognized the Geneva painter in a self-portrait about the moment your child starts needing you less, and she told Piloto she felt exactly the same way.

Moments like that don’t happen by accident.

Piloto is a representational oil painter who takes a classical approach to portraiture with a contemporary feel. In her recent work, instead of using the traditional underpainting approach, she paints directly in color on a panel primed in 50% gray.

She then builds up layers until the piece is nearly finished before adding glazes (thin, translucent layers of paint that deepen color and light).

Piloto begins each painting with sketches and photographs, followed by a final drawing. She transfers that drawing to an ACM panel (a rigid aluminum composite board) and mixes her paints. Once she's satisfied the painting is complete, she varnishes it and photographs the finished piece in its frame. 

Although she plans out most of her paintings, she often relies on intuition to guide the process.

While she works, Piloto usually keeps her reference photo up, glancing back and forth between her computer screen and the panel countless times. She even rotates the painting 90 degrees in either direction, and sometimes turns it upside down. Those rotations help her see whatever section she's working on as abstract shapes rather than familiar features.

A self-taught artist, Piloto says her technique has evolved through trial and error. She's never been afraid to tackle a subject before she had the skills for it.

"If I'm not pushing myself, I'm not growing,” she said. “It is really as simple as that."

Even with careful planning, Piloto expects the unexpected. She usually keeps painting until she feels completely satisfied, but sometimes walking away works better.

"Many times, I've found forcing things to happen doesn't work for me,” she said. “If I have any issues or things nagging at me, I've learned it's best to put the painting aside and take a break."

Her 24-by-36-inch painting "Justice" was one of those pieces. The longer she worked on it, the less satisfied she became. After setting it aside for a few days, she came back with a creative solution: flecks of gold floating across the figure.

"This was a pretty significant risk, as I would be putting yellow and gold paint across a number of other elements that were very dark,” she said. “I didn't want to fix or repaint these areas in the event I was wrong.” 

In the end, she was very happy with the piece, saying it completed the narrative in a way she hadn’t considered before.

Piloto draws inspiration from many artists, including Odd Nerdrum, Salvador Dalí, Johannes Vermeer, and William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

"They've all shaped the way I paint in regard to storytelling, composition, color, and style,” she said. “I love that artists can be completely different from one another and still accomplish beautiful works of art."

Piloto says she's been fascinated with facial features and the human form since she was very young, and she's stuck with it.

“I remain committed because it's always a challenge, and I feel a sense of satisfaction when I paint,” she said.

She prefers painting the human body because everyone can relate to it. 

"For me, it is the main way to convey meaning to the viewer, or perhaps make the viewer connect to the story."

One of the poses she returns to most is the direct gaze, and she says there’s neuroscience research behind it.

"The direct gaze activates the brain's social cognition networks, making the viewer feel as though an actual living person is observing them,” she said. “At the same time, the gaze draws the viewer in, allowing them a moment to think critically about what they are viewing."

She often lights her subjects with Rembrandt lighting, a classic portrait technique that leaves a small triangle of light on the cheek on the shadowed side of the face. 

Piloto works to keep both her model and the story as genuine as possible, taking plenty of breaks and asking lots of questions.

“Does it feel right, or is something off? Why do I keep looking at a specific area? Is the color correct? Is the paint too thin, or going on heavy enough? Am I losing the form?” she said.

All of those decisions serve one goal: a painting that doesn't feel contrived, but authentic and believable.

At the same time, Piloto often embellishes details she doesn't see in the photograph. Adding a highlight in the eyes or exaggerating the softness of a curve helps her create the most complete painting possible.

Around 2021, Piloto began experimenting with social narrative portraits, such as the "Twelve Years," self-portrait that resonated with the other mother.

Another piece, "Portrait of a High School Art Teacher," depicts former Geneva High School art teacher Al Oschner, a passionate artist and educator who had a meaningful influence on his students. A local collector purchased both paintings.

Since then, Piloto has taken on issues she sees as important in the world around us: liberty, justice, and how young women are portrayed in society.

She paints narratives because they inspire her. Her models represent a concept she has developed, and the work tends to draw interesting reactions from viewers. Symbols have become central to her latest paintings, and she knows they can mean different things to different people. 

"For example, in my painting 'Defiance,' one person may just see a lit match, while someone else sees it as a symbol of power,” she said.

Visit Piloto's website, daniellepiloto.com, and message her there to ask about pricing and shipping. You can also reach her by DM on Instagram (@daniellepiloto) and Facebook (DaniellePilotoArtist). 

Piloto often exhibits in shows, and she takes a limited number of portrait commissions of both people and pets for the holidays.

This piece was written by Ellen Jo Ljung, a longtime Geneva resident, author, award-winning educator, and glass artist. Visit her website to learn more.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with questions or comments.

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