Deadpan Dee

2010

I was in school for Graphic Design at the time. One of my assignments was to draw a self-portrait. This was probably the first time I'd drawn my likeness and I'd say I did well!

Cawfeh

2008

Early into my digital art journey, I found Adobe Illustrator and fell in love with vectored art. Here's a vectored self-portrait, inspired by coffee colors.

Self

2011

This was my first attempt at a digital self portrait. I remember thinking that I captured my features in a more stylized way, and not exactly true to my features.

Scarf

2013

Obscured under a scarf, drawn from a picture of myself.

Saint Dee, Patron of Tissue

2014

I was very close with tissue boxes in 2014. This was the first time in my life dealing with a chronic illness, so I was miserable.

I submitted this into an online exhibition in 2024 and it made 4th place! I was honestly kind of shocked this piece placed out of the others I entered with my application. I understand now that perhaps it resonated because it was real, honest and reveals the unglamorous parts of being human.

Dee Soul - Sketch

2014

I love this sketch (perhaps even more than the final piece...)! I took a picture of myself as reference for the pose. See the following picture for the final look.

Dee Soul

2014

This portrait reflects how close I felt to losing myself, my soul, my passion, my freedom to a road that was never mine to walk.

However, the roads I mistook for my own were there to show me which road to take.

Mutant

2014

One of my favorites! I love the colors, the shading, the small details I added (that are too subtle to see on your screens).

El Deeablo

2013

This was a lot of fun! I wanted to draw horns on myself, so it evolved into becoming taxidermy, ha.

Self 2012

2012

First portrait to accurately capture my features (minus some liberties taken with color!).

A Queen & Her Crown

2021

A portrait celebrating my "crown" which is my hair. It's been through many phases over the years, short to long to short again. I took the visual concept of playing cards to create this portrait.

why do I create?

From young, art and the creation of it has given me a feeling of satisfaction that I haven’t (yet) found in anything else. Creating art sustains me. It drives me, it fuels me, it excites me. It fills my cup of imagination and contentment. It motivates me to see what I'm capable of and to know that there's so much more I can do.

My relationship with art has varied over the years, from obsession to negligence. In that negligence, I felt something fading away. Not skill, but passion. I feared losing myself. Through that fear, I realized my passion to create had always given me life, a spark, a distant look, and a twinkle in my eye.

who am I?

An Oregon-based New York native ready to be visible in the art world. I used to work in offices, doing routine work. In late 2017, I made a decision to choose myself and my passion before I was left listless and depressed. I've been navigating this world of being an full-time artist ever since. It hasn't been easy, but it's worth taking a chance on myself than on another's dream.

My first loves were pencil and paper, and I transitioned to mainly digital art in 2006 (wow, 20 years!). In 2020, I moved into acrylic painting and have been enjoying the process of letting perfectionism go.