Scituate blogger and artist Danielle Driscoll’s whimsical watercolors capture quintessential New England style.
By Maria Allen Portrait by Kjeld Mahoney
Danielle Driscoll is the creator of Finding Silver Pennies, a popular lifestyle blog dedicated to showcasing easy entertaining ideas, effortless home decorating tips and do-it-yourself craft projects with a coastal flair. She is also the author of an e-book “On the Tip of My Paintbrush: Painted Furniture Techniques.”Earlier this year, the Scituate resident began exploring a new passion for watercolor painting and released a collection of stationery products with light and airy depictions of whales, sharks, lighthouses and other local landmarks. A portion of every sale is donated to support the World Wildlife Fund or other local charities.
Q: How would you describe the Finding Silver Pennies blog?
A: I started Finding Silver Pennies back in August 2011. At the time, my boys were tiny, and I craved a creative outlet. My blog journey led me to discover a world of creativity I didn’t know was inside me – never before had I picked up a paint brush or a camera! It is my goal to help readers discover the creativity inside them.
Q: What prompted you to pursue watercolor art?
A: Watercolor has always been something I wanted to learn. I took my first drawing and watercolor class at South Shore Art Center when my son started kindergarten (eight years ago).
Q: What do you enjoy about this medium?
A: I love watching how the paint and water mingle across the paper. It’s mesmerizing. I always light a candle, pour a cup of coffee, and sit in my sunroom with paints and inspiration. I always feel so happy and inspired after painting. Using creativity helps with stress and worries. I always feel so happy after painting.
Q: What inspires your creativity/How do you decide what to paint?
A: My artwork is inspired by Scituate Harbor, where I live. Each morning I walk the beaches with my husband and our rescue dogs. Seeing the water, beaches and shells inspires me to create. I love painting the ocean, shells, cocktails, sea life, and I just finished a sweet little watercolor of the Lucky Finn blooming with flowers.
Perfectly patriotic, the American Flag Watercolor watercolor design is available as notecard sets, single cards, as well as framed and unframed prints. Products are printed in the USA using recycled paper and come in eco-friendly packaging. A portion from each sale of this design is donated to Scituate Veterans.
Q: What are your most popular products?
A: The notecards and notepads have been very popular. The most popular designs are: 143, Scituate Lighthouse, Beach Rocks, the Bunny, and The World Is Your Oyster. We sold out of our desk calendars - my husband handcrafted the wooden stands for these and I’m currently designing a new calendar for 2023.
Q: You have done different types of creative work over the years. What is your primary focus these days?
A: I still love sharing our coastal life through my blog. I love sharing stories and photography of our sweet little town and also how to make one’s home feel welcoming and calm. My primary focus in addition to the blog is creating artwork and teaching through my site. It brings me so much happiness to know people find joy in seeing my watercolors and sending them to family and friends in notes. Sending a card is so intimate - I know people use our cards for happy occasions and thank yous but also for sad times too. So it means so much that people reach for my cards in all these instances.
Q: Anything new on the horizon?
A: In addition to creating stationery, I’m expanding my artwork to use in surface pattern design. I’m working on my first collection of wallpaper, fabric and a home goods collection.
A selection of Danielle Driscoll’s stationery designs are available at Buttonwood Books in Cohasset, Board143 in North Scituate, and Joye in Scituate Harbor. You can find more information on her website, findingsilverpennies.com.