Daniel R. Mitchell is a Hull-based painter and architect whose large-scale acrylic works explore urban streets and architectural landscapes through a balance of structure and expressive freedom. Rooted in a deep familiarity with the built environment, his paintings reinterpret place through atmosphere, composition, and colour, creating work that is designed to sit comfortably and confidently within real spaces — from private interiors to public, commercial, and hospitality settings.

A practising chartered architect, Daniel’s architectural training and professional career inform his painting through a distinct and disciplined lens. This background shapes how space, proportion, rhythm, and structure are understood and constructed within each work, resulting in paintings with a strong sense of scale, spatial awareness, and context. These qualities allow the work to respond naturally to its surroundings, making it particularly well suited to interior environments where atmosphere and spatial presence are key.

Daniel often describes his painting practice as an opportunity to step away from the rules, regulations, processes, and technical demands that define architectural work. While architecture is shaped by external constraints and multiple stakeholders, painting offers complete creative autonomy. Each work is self-directed, with Daniel determining its direction, pace, and resolution — enabling an instinctive, exploratory approach that balances discipline with freedom.

His education began in Hull, where he studied Art, Craft & Design and 3D Design at Hull College School of Art & Design, establishing a strong foundation in materiality, composition, and visual thinking. He went on to study architecture at Hull School of Architecture (Hull College), before completing his Master of Architecture (RIBA Part 2) at Sheffield Hallam University, and later a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice & Management in Architecture (RIBA Part 3) at the University of Huddersfield. This progression through both art and architectural education has shaped his practice, grounding his work in technical rigour while allowing creative independence to take precedence.

Daniel’s paintings deliberately move beyond strict representation. Reality is adjusted, extended, and reworked where it strengthens composition, atmosphere, and visual clarity. Architectural forms are drawn from the surrounding urban landscape, then reassembled and developed beyond their physical constraints. Colour is used intuitively, prioritising mood, spatial presence, and emotional resonance over literal accuracy.

Through this approach, Daniel’s work captures not only the physical qualities of urban environments, but also their underlying character — the accumulated memory, quiet tension, and lived experience embedded within streets and structures. His paintings invite viewers to engage with familiar places anew, offering works that enhance and activate the spaces they inhabit, whether in homes, workplaces, or hospitality environments.