Daisy Holder

About the Artist

Daisy Holder is a 26 year old artist originally from Surrey, now living in Perthshire. Amongst other artistic endeavours, she works primarily in oil paint creating surrealist landscapes inspired by her rural surroundings. Daisy graduated with a degree in Architecture before choosing to pursue art, and completed a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art at Goldsmiths University of London in 2023.

Daisy’s paintings emerged from the desire to draw parallels between the human body and the natural world, to personify landscape in order to draw more emotion towards it. This idea has evolved through her practice, which begins with her own excursions into nature. There is a component of challenge within her work against the traditional western anthropocentric view that places humans as somehow dominant over the earth we inhabit. Daisy has explored the notion of the sublime within her practice, but has taken that concept and introduced her own understanding of it. The work is starting to combine these ideas of the sublime and dwelling, communicating how they can coexist.

Since her move to Scotland, Daisy’s practice has evolved, where previously paintings began as an overall response to nature, her more recent pieces have a more specific connection to excursions and locations. Her work has become more focused on the varied atmosphere of the highlands, the tranquility, accomplishment, joy and loneliness that comes with exploring the landscape. The act of painting holds similar importance to Daisy as the act of exploring the natural world, it is one of the few things that gives her a similar sense of peace and focus.