I’m an emerging artist painting contemporary Symbolist and Surrealist pieces in tempera and oil. My process involves a mix of palimpsest layering and sancai-inspired dripping, discovering figures through pareidolia, and circular or spiral compositions.
I gravitate towards the mystical, mysterious, and the ambivalent. I draw influence from worldwide literature, mythology, history, folklore, and everyday encounters, finding the commonalities between cultures.
While I resist sticking to one style, throughout my work I explore today’s splintered yet global world. In my pieces, I juxtapose symbols and figures to evoke modern-day anxieties, inequalities, and absurdities, or capture the resulting isolation. I experiment with different ways of seeing, such as parallax, nonsensical or multiple perspectives, or “temporal coded” third limbs to push this alienation further.
Currently, I’m surrendering to my love of circles, exploring the weight in 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 English and History – Texas State University
Recent exhibitions:
- From Vermont with Love – SEABA Center (2026)
- The Human Instinct – T.W. Wood Museum (2025)
- Birds and Myth – The Vermont Bird Museum (2025)
- The Current Members Show – The Current (2025)
- Garden of Curiosities – Art Hop (2025)
- Members Show – S.P.A.C.E. (2025)
- Co-founded Rogue Clover Art Market benefit for Migrant Justice (2025)
- Total Eclipse of the Art – The Vaults (2024)
Upcoming:
- Work included in a Netflix production through Curina
- this is a show about grief – Ghost Gallery, Seattle
- Wicked – Splendorporium, Portland
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 videogame, travelling, attempting to go outside more, or listening to new music.
Have a project idea or just want to say hi? Reach me at daratheodora.tp@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram or Pixelfed.