Ink Dwell studio creates art that explores the beauty and complexity of nature. Merging classical techniques of science illustration with modern fine art, we create public and private commissions, paintings, visual art, illustrations, exhibitions and much more.

Ink Dwell makes everyday places special and enhances iconic locations with wondrous imagery.

Team

Jane Kim
Founder

Jane is a visual artist, science illustrator, and the founder of Ink Dwell. Her art career started when she was a little girl obsessively painting flowers and bears on the walls of her bedroom. She received more formal training with a  BFA in Printmaking from RISD and then attended California State University Monterey Bay, where she received a master’s certificate in science illustration. She has created large-scale public art across the country, including the Wall of Birds at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and produced works for the National Aquarium, the de Young Museum, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and more. She is the creator of the Migrating Mural campaign, a series of public installations that highlight wildlife along migration corridors it shares with people. She still enjoys painting flowers and bears, though nowadays she doesn’t get in trouble for painting on the walls. 

Thayer Walker

Cofounder

A third-generation San Franciscan who loves the region’s booming surf and roaring rivers, Thayer manages Ink Dwell’s operations. As an author and correspondent who has covered exploration for nearly two decades, he loves to tell stories of the natural world. He found the ninth largest diamond ever discovered at Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park and once survived 20 days stranded on a desert island. With Jane Kim, he co-authored The Wall of Birds (Harper Design), a book about Ink Dwell’s monumental mural at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. His forthcoming book, The River Runner (Random House), explores the life of the world’s greatest expedition kayaker. 

Danza Davis
Illustrator/Graphic Designer

Danza grew up and resides in the oak woodlands of Northern California. She has bachelor degrees in botany and studio art from Humboldt State University and studied science illustration at California State University Monterey Bay. Danza has worked on-site for some of Ink Dwell’s biggest projects, including the Wall of Birds and The National Aquarium’s Living Seashore. Today, she develops imagery and concepts for Ink Dwell’s digital and physical works. She strives for scientific accuracy in her work and hopes it can impart the sense of wonder and preciousness that she feels when observing nature.

Chelsea Roberts

Apprentice

A Bay Area native, Chelsea has lived and explored all over the Golden State. She received a bachelors in art from Westmont College, where she painted a life-size blue whale heart as part of her senior thesis. She is driven to spread environmental awareness and inspiration through her art and is particularly fond of coastal and marine ecology. Previously, she worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and loves to explore the tide pools behind Ink Dwell’s Half Moon Bay studio. With a sharp eye and steady hand, Chelsea helps create Ink Dwell’s imagery across all mediums.