Black Heart Artistry with Dita

Artist • Illustration • Graphic Design • Visual Storytelling

On more than one occasion, people have looked around my home, looked back at me, and declared that I live in a spooky version of Pee-wee’s Playhouse.

I’ve never been more flattered.

Still not entirely convinced it was meant as a compliment, but that’s absolutely how I chose to take it.

Truthfully, I’ve been living in my own little universe my entire life.

It’s a place where monsters are lovable, ghosts are misunderstood, cats somehow end up in everything, and genres that probably shouldn’t work together become my favorite stories to tell. Horror and children’s books? Absolutely. Vintage Americana and cryptids? Why not? If something makes me smile, sparks curiosity, or feels just a little delightfully strange, I’m probably going to draw it.

I’ve never believed artists should have to stay in one lane. Over the years I’ve explored just about every creative medium I could get my hands on, from fine art, portrait painting, and sculpture to branding, publishing, comics, murals, product design, tattooing, and digital illustration. Today my work focuses primarily on fine art, portraiture, and digital illustration, but I’m always excited to chase the next idea, wherever it decides to take me.

Somehow that curiosity has led me to places I never imagined. I’ve contributed artwork to major motion pictures, exhibited work in galleries, created portraits that now hang in celebrity homes, designed large-scale murals and community art installations, illustrated books, built brands, and donated more than 175 original pieces of artwork to charities, fundraisers, and community organizations over the years.

One of my favorite projects wasn’t created by me alone.

It was created by more than 300 people.

All Are Deserving was a traveling community mural that crossed seven states and invited people of every age and artistic ability to help create something together. That project reminded me of something I’ve believed for a very long time:

Art isn’t something reserved for experts.

It isn’t something that has to be perfect, or even understood by everyone who sees it.

Sometimes art is polished.

Sometimes it’s messy.

Sometimes it’s wonderfully weird.

Sometimes it only makes sense to the person who created it.

And that’s okay.

I believe creativity belongs to everyone.

These days I’ve traded some of my traveling for a quieter studio, a move to a new state, and the opportunity to build new stories from a different corner of the country. Alongside my artwork, I’m gradually weaving together my creative career with my work in forensic document examination while continuing to illustrate children’s books and develop the ever-growing universe that is Black Heart Artistry.

Thanks for stopping by my strange little corner of the internet.

Take your time, explore the galleries, and don’t be surprised if you leave wanting to adopt a monster… or at least draw a few more cats.

Creative Services

• Illustration

• Graphic Design

• Logo & Brand Identity

• Apparel & Merchandise Graphics

• Print Design

• Product Design

• Book Illustration

• Comic Art

• Character Design

• Licensing & Collaborations