For Trekell Pro Team Artist Danica Sills, the painting often begins before she decides what to paint. She chooses the panel first, then lets its shape spark ideas, influence the composition and become part of the finished artwork.
A blank rectangle leaves almost every decision open. A shaped panel gives you something to react to before you make the first mark.
For Danica, that is where the inspiration begins. When she sees a shaped Trekell panel, she starts with the images, moods and associations connected to its silhouette. Those first thoughts become the foundation for the painting.
For this piece, Danica chose a Trekell Coffin Panel from the Gore Store Collection. The shape immediately suggested a vampire, but instead of stopping at the obvious idea, she used it as the starting point for a more personal scene: a vampire comfortable and cozy at home.
Watch Danica’s painting process below.
Choose the Panel First
Danica does not usually begin with a finished concept and then search for a panel to fit it. She works in reverse.
“I always pick out my panel first,” Danica says. “I find the blank panel so inspiring.”
Starting with the surface gives her a creative prompt before she has chosen a subject. The shape begins narrowing an otherwise endless number of possibilities and gives the painting a sense of direction from the start.
“I feel like I’m just starting miles ahead,” she explains in the video. “I already have so many ideas and associations with the shapes of the panels.”
Instead of facing a completely blank rectangle and asking what belongs there, the silhouette has already started the conversation.
Follow Your First Associations
When Danica chooses a shaped panel, she pays attention to the ideas that immediately come to mind.
“I usually have a flood of initial thoughts and associations I have with the shape,” she says. “I start by writing out a list of those first ideas for the painting.”
Those initial associations do not need to become the finished concept. They are simply the first branch of the idea.
Danica looks for ways to twist, combine and develop them into something she is excited to paint. With the Coffin Panel, vampire was the first and strongest association. But she did not want to create only a traditionally dark or frightening vampire scene.
“I wanted her comfortable and cozy in her home, a feeling I’m always craving around this time of year,” Danica says.
The Coffin Panel provided the first spark. The finished painting came from letting that spark grow into something more specific.
“It all feels like a tree of inspiration branching off from that first spark I had with the panel shape.”
Compose for the Shape
Choosing the panel first changes more than the subject. It also changes the way Danica designs the composition.
“I find the process of sketching and composing the piece to be much smoother when I can design with the shape of the panel,” she says. “I love creating paintings that flow with the panel.”
Rather than designing an image for a rectangle and adapting it later, Danica can use the final silhouette from the beginning. The outer edge becomes part of the composition, influencing where the figure sits, how the negative space is arranged and where the viewer’s eye moves through the painting.
The goal is to create a painting that belongs on that specific panel, not an image that could just as easily be cropped into a traditional rectangle.
Use Contrast to Develop the Idea
A shaped panel can reinforce the subject of a painting, but it can also create an interesting contrast with it.
Danica often references Memento Mori in her work, so the Coffin Panel naturally connects to themes she already enjoys exploring.
“The coffin shape anchors the heavier side of the motif while I can lean into life and light in the image I’m painting,” she explains.
That contrast gives Danica room to explore bones, flowers and moths without making every part of the painting feel equally dark. The Coffin Panel establishes one side of the emotional tone, while the imagery inside it can bring in warmth, beauty, life or humor.
Her Vampire painting uses the same approach. The panel brings immediate associations of darkness, death and Halloween. The subject inside it brings comfort, coziness and the quieter magic of the season.
One Shape Can Create Many Paintings
Danica has a stack of Coffin Panels waiting to be painted, but using the same silhouette does not mean repeating the same concept.
“I love the Coffin Panel because it supports some of my favorite themes so well,” she says.
One panel may lead to a Memento Mori painting with bones, flowers or moths. Another may suggest Halloween night, a whimsical scene or something lighter and more playful.
“When I want to paint something more whimsical and lighthearted, this panel gives a perfect counterpoint,” Danica says. “This Vampire painting is a perfect example of how I like to combine the eeriness and magic of the season.”
That is what makes shaped panels useful as creative prompts. The panel gives you direction, but it does not dictate the outcome. You can return to the same shape again and again, each time following a different branch of inspiration.
[INSERT IMAGE: Danica’s finished Vampire painting, or a group image of multiple Coffin Panel artworks]
Let the Surface Inspire the Subject
If you usually decide what to paint before choosing a surface, try reversing the process for your next piece.
- Choose a shaped panel before deciding on a subject.
- Write down the first images, themes and moods the shape brings to mind.
- Look beyond the most obvious interpretation.
- Combine or twist your first ideas until they become something personal.
- Decide whether the subject should reinforce or contrast with the mood of the shape.
- Sketch directly for the silhouette instead of adapting a rectangular composition later.
- Use the outer edge of the panel as part of the composition.
You do not have to follow a shaped panel literally. Treat it as the first creative constraint and see where it takes you.
The Takeaway
For Danica Sills, a shaped panel is not simply an alternative to a rectangular painting surface. It is part of the idea from the very beginning.
She chooses the panel first, follows the associations it creates, develops those thoughts into something more personal and designs the painting specifically for the shape.
Sometimes the surface reinforces the subject. Sometimes it creates contrast. Either way, it gives the artist somewhere to start.
The next time you are unsure what to paint, try changing the question. Choose a shape first, then ask what it makes you think of.
That first association may be all you need.
Explore the Gore Store
Danica’s Coffin Panel is part of Trekell’s Gore Store Collection, featuring limited edition Halloween-inspired wood panels designed to give artists a different place to start.
The Gore Store Collection is available during September and October. Once spooky season ends, these shapes disappear until next year.