“Words belong to each other,” Virginia Woolf said in the only surviving recording of her voice. I believe images, too, belong to each other. Images carry messages inextricable from meaning, whether internalized or culturally-provided. This is where I explore, creating layered and paradoxical narrative pieces anchored by mystical or personal symbolism.
I’m an emerging artist creating contemporary Surrealist working primarily with hand-mixed egg tempera and oil paints. My process involves a mix of circular palimpsest layering, sancai-inspired dripping, and discovering figures through pareidolia in textured grounds.
I naturally resist sticking to one style or theme, instead choosing to explore today’s splintered yet global world – and my own splintered identity – in different styles through juxtaposing images and figures in Southwestern Gothic or dreamy landscapes to evoke anxieties, guilt, inequalities, isolation, and, somehow, hope. To capture these feelings, I frequently paint themes from mythology and folklore, stars, circles, hidden figures, hauntings, primal creatures, and the mutable clouds.
I experiment with different ways of seeing, such as parallax, nonsensical or multiple perspectives, or “temporal coded” third limbs to push this alienation further. All perception is a form of deception, so I accept “abnormalities” or mistakes as a loving part of the creative process. As long as I love every shape, every color, every line, it’s, to me, a successful piece.
Currently, I’m surrendering to my love of circles, exploring the weight of negative space, and continuing to build my own symbology.
Currently based in Portland, Oregon. Originally from San Antonio/Austin, Texas. Lived in and also inspired by the UK, Ireland, and Vermont.
MA in English Literature and Culture – University of Birmingham, UK
Double Major BA in English and History – Texas State University
Recent exhibitions:
- Work included in Survival of the Thickest, Netflix, via Curina (2026)
- Wicked – Splendorporium, Portland, Oregon (2026)
- From Vermont with Love – SEABA Center, Vermont (2026)
- The Human Instinct – T.W. Wood Museum, Vermont (2025)
- Birds and Myth – The Vermont Bird Museum (2025)
- The Current Members Show – The Current, Stowe, Vermont (2025)
- Garden of Curiosities – Art Hop, Burlington, Vermont (2025)
- Members Show – S.P.A.C.E. (2025)
- Co-founded Rogue Clover Art Market benefit for Migrant Justice (2025)
Upcoming:
- Anthology Gallery X Poetic Tiger Gallery Present: Wild Kingdom -Opening: Sep 4, 2026
- this is a show about grief – Ghost Gallery, Seattle – Sept. 11th, 2026
- Tarot– Splendorporium, Portland, Oregon – October 2 to October 29, 2026
When I’m not painting or doing your general surviving-in-the-modern-world things, I’m petting a cat, writing or reading, playing a new indie video game, travelling, attempting to go outside more, or listening to new music (open to your recommendations!).
Have a project idea, a commission, or just want to say hi? Reach me at daratheodora.tp@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram or Pixelfed.