Artist Series 2026: Danielle Adams

Danielle Adams describes her upbringing in North Vancouver, B.C., as having “won the lottery”—camping, hiking, skiing, and doing art.

“My parents encouraged creativity at an early age, and I'm so grateful for that,” she says. “They never said, ‘Get a real job.’”

Now, art is her real job: she works full-time as a graphic designer, illustrator, and painter in Squamish, B.C., where she finds inspiration in nature every day. She hikes, mountain bikes, backpacks, and, of course, skis, but she also sees beauty when she’s in the grocery store parking lot. This is the key to her art and to her happiness: she sees beauty everywhere.

Locked in!

Her art is a reflection of how she sees the world, all patterns and colors and movement. Her paintings make you feel the happiness and awe she feels—and we’re proud to have her as our newest topsheet artist. “The vividness of things—I got lucky to have a brain that notices that, or being an artist has turned my brain into one that notices that,” she says. 

We caught up with her recently to ask her more about her process. Here’s what she had to say.

Wagner: When did you start painting?

Adams: I've been painting my whole life. I don’t remember a time before art. I'm so lucky, and I didn’t realize it was not normal.

Wagner: How were you able to make it your full-time job?

Adams: I went to school for illustration and design, and I worked as a tree planter in the summers—it’s a pretty quintessential Canadian university job. I was able to make enough money to ski and paint and slowly build my art practice. I graduated right into the pandemic, and there were no job offers. So I started painting a lot more and making money from my paintings. It was the path of least resistance to get to where I am; I had a bit of luck, and everything’s just come together. I’ve become addicted to the freedom that working for myself provides. I can’t imagine working for someone else again.

Wagner: You have such a distinct style. It’s like, where other people see a tree, you see the patterns and colors that make up that tree.

Adams: I feel like how I paint the world is how I see the world. But maybe I see the world how I do because I’ve been painting the world for so long. I look for subtle absurdities of nature and lean into them. It’s funny, people tell me my paintings look like what the world looks like when you’re tripping. The patterns and the way the trees blend together…. I don’t know if I’m revealing the true nature of the world or interpreting it in my own way, but it’s just how I see things.

Adams isn't only an artist, but an exceptional skier as well.

Wagner: How does art fulfill you?

Adams: I credit art for being a happy person. I’m always looking for beautiful things. The way clouds overlap and the way the mist pulls across a ridgeline—it feels good to notice that. Beauty is everywhere; some of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen have been from the grocery store parking lot. So much of my art comes from yearning to communicate outward. 

I wanted to make a huge difference in the world as a kid. That desire hasn’t gone away. But it’s come down to, what am I good at? What can I do? The purpose of my life as I know it right now is to make beautiful things and share the lightness they bring me.

Wagner: Where did you grow up skiing?

Adams: I grew up skiing Grouse Mountain on the North Shore. There’s a little gondola at the bottom, and we’d go ski all afternoon. But I stopped when I was 13 because we had bad snow years, and I outgrew all the gear. It was too expensive because I had to buy the ski gear myself. I started working in a gear store six years later, but I still skied like a 13-year-old boy. I got really into ski touring, but you’re not going to get good at skiing by ski touring. My friends still tease me that I ski like a child, but I love it.

Adams after finishing one of her paintings for this Wagner Artist Series.

Wagner: What is your process like? How do you decide what you want to paint?

Adams: So much of my process is tied to physically being in these spaces. I take my own reference photos unless I’m doing commission work, which is a great way to justify a ski trip. Last winter I did a series from a provincial park near where I live. The first overnight backpacking trip I ever did was there with my dad, and it was great to go back 20 years later. We ski toured up to the glacier, and I was struck by the vastness and the heavy contrast between the deep blue sky and the starkness of the white. I went home and painted three paintings back to back. Glacier minimalism. It was a huge day; we did over 2,000 meters. Being that stoked and that inspired was so cool.

Wagner: Which of your topsheets is your favorite?

Adams: I really like the one with the desert, because it’s a little silly to have a desert scene on skis. I also like the one with the moon sitting at the tip and tail and the sunset, because that came from a trip I took with my buddy, Ryan, who taught me everything I know. We camped on a glacier up at Mount Garibaldi. That’s probably my favorite because it has so much sentimental value.

Wagner: What’s it going to be like for you seeing your skis on people’s feet?

Adams: One of my favorite things is seeing my art in the wild. Whether it’s on kombucha cans or seeing my painting on a friend’s wall. 

You can see more of Adams’s work on her website, or follow her on Instagram @danyeti.art.

Adams enjoying a PNW campfire.

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Article by Kimberly Beekman
Kimberly Beekman is the former editor-in-chief of the late, great Skiing Magazine (RIP), and a longtime editor of SKI Magazine before that. She currently uses the title of “freelancer” as a beard to ski powder all over the world. She lives in Steamboat, Colorado, with her wonderful daughter and terrible cat.