DustyDustinDavis

My name’s Dustin Davis, and I grew up in the town of St. Peter in south-central Minnesota. My interest in drawing probably stems from my parents interest in art; my dad would do caricatures, and my mom practiced some stamping and other arts and crafts. My brother and I were also exposed to a huge variety of illustrated children’s books with many interesting styles. Soon I picked up my own pencil or brush, and made some masterpieces (all archived in boxes in our parent’s attic). Often I would accompany my dad to his workplace, to save my parents hiring a baby sitter, and sit somewhere in his office and draw for hours on the backs of extra newsprint. As I went through grade school, middle school, and high school, I developed a fairly intense interest in playing video games. I loved delving into so many different worlds, seeing and learning about the strange characters and their stories. I greatly admired the concept art for characters, which I would find online. I responded by drawing mock-ups of fake video game magazines and parody screenshots and captions. My odd or silly scenarios I illustrate, as well as the cartoony style of drawing that I developed at that time have carried through to my work today, as well as my sense of humor. My humor can undoubtedly be attributed to my love for newspaper comic strips like Gary Larson’s “The Far Side”, Bill Amend’s “Foxtrot” and Bill Watterson’s “Calvin & Hobbes”. Since beginning my studies at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I have dabbled in various mediums, but often return to digital methods to convey my concepts. I enjoy trying to balance work that is more editorial and pieces that are more easy-going, perhaps more in place in a children’s book. The reason I make art is to express myself and to hopefully make at least someone out there smile or chuckle. I maintain a website with my portfolio at dustyart.org. Credit for my profile picture goes to Drew Carlson Photography: www.drewcarlsonphotography.com. Thanks!