Twin Art: Sunrise & Sunset by Suelyn Dankerlui
Own a Piece of Boardwalk Beach
Celebrating local Aruban art is something we've always made space for at Boardwalk. In 2026, that meant two paintings by Suelyn Dankerlui: twins, born from the same sunrise and sunset on our section of Palm Beach. Guests and locals watched both sessions happen live, right on the sand.
The sunrise piece now hangs proudly at Boardwalk. Its twin, the sunset, was auctioned that year to support earthquake relief efforts and found its new home. The winning bid included a three-night stay at Boardwalk and lunch with the artist, taking home a piece of Aruba genuinely tied to a place and a moment, while its other half stays here, connected to it, always.
The winning bid raised USD 3,600, donated to earthquake relief efforts in Colombia and Venezuela. Many of the team at Boardwalk have friends and family there, and we watched what that year's earthquakes did to the people we love. This auction was a small way for us to help, a one-off shift from Twin Art's usual cause of supporting Aruban arts education, which the next commission returned to.
Meet Suelyn Dankerlui
Suelyn Dankerlui is self-taught, and her connection to art started long before she picked up a brush, as a child cloud-watching in Aruba's mondi. That instinct for reading light, shape, and feeling has stayed with her ever since. Today, she's considered one of Aruba's most respected artists, known for painting feelings rather than objects: layered textures built from a palette that could only come from this island, soft beiges, earthy browns, ocean blues and greens.
She painted our section of Palm Beach live in the end of 2025, in front of guests and locals, capturing both ends of the day, the early morning light and the sunset. Both sessions happened on the sand, in real time, shared with our online community as they unfolded. One canvas, the sunrise piece, now hangs permanently at Boardwalk. The sunset piece was the one auctioned off September 2026.
Sunset, is a warm farewell.
Its twin, Sunrise, is the smile of a new day. Sunset, is the feeling of the Aruban sun disappearing, the clouds catching every color in the sky and a quiet thank you to the beautiful close of another day spent enjoying the island.
- Sunsrise's twin piece
- Found its new home through auction
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Proceeds supported earthquake relief in Colombia and Venezuela
Sunrise, is the smile of a new day.
Inspired by the fresh turquoise waters and white sands of Boardwalk Beach, it captures a new beginning, the gentle sea breeze, and the light dancing across the water at first light. It is the quiet promise that comes before anything else has happened yet, a canvas full of possibility.
- Proudly on display at Boardwalk
- Connected to its Twin Piece Sunset always
- Painted by local artist Suelyn Dankerlui and commissioned by Boardwalk Boutique Hotel
Hear from Suelyn
Award winning journalist & podcaster, Waverly Colville, sat down with Suelyn Dankerlui as part of Boardwalk's Creative in Residence program to talk about her process, her connection to Aruba, and painting our beach live at sunrise and sunset.
Hear the rest, in her own words.
Art at Boardwalk: The Twin Art Project
Launched in 2025, Twin Art is Boardwalk's ongoing commissioned art series, a quiet nod to the two founders who built this hotel together, Kimberly and Stephanie, and the idea of two halves forming one whole. Each commission is created in pairs: two works, one story, exploring duality and this island's sense of place.
There's no fixed formula for what happens to each pair, that's decided with every artist. For Suelyn's commission, the arrangement carries real meaning: one painting stays at Boardwalk permanently, the other goes out into the world. Wherever it ends up, it stays connected to the piece that never left, and to the island, and the stay, it came from.
Twin Art was conceptualised and curated by Boardwalk Boutique Hotel's Concept Designer, Claudia Nooren Ruiz-Vasques.