Today we’d like to introduce you to Dee Forrest.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve always been drawing and my mother, being an art teacher, has the archives to prove it. I always gravitated towards the arts, but two years into college the need to survive saw me dropping out of school, and relegating art to a peripheral activity. It stayed there for far too long.
I attribute the reawakening of my passion for art to a good friend. He, a pastor, asked me to illustrate one hundred pieces for one hundred sermons he was preparing for a series appropriately titled “One Hundred Things”. The project ended up taking several years, but it reminded me of the dreams of my youth to be a story-teller by trade. Life in software design began to feel less like safety, and more like prison.
Shortly after the conclusion of that project I launched my first web-comic: The Legendary Sisters of the Laughing Doggebi. I also began seeking out opportunities for illustration in the table-top gaming industry, as the art in RPG source-books were a major inspiration to me in my youth. I’ve yet to slip the surly bonds of the I.T. world but there’s been a paradigm shift in my thinking. My art is now again where my identity lies, and the cubicle farm is that peripheral activity that keeps the power on.
Please tell us about your art.
Ultimately, I just enjoy story-telling. Even when I’m working on an illustration for someone else, I’m looking for ways to join them in the story they’re telling. The items I slip into a character’s inventory, or the minutia in the background architecture of a comic-book panel are my micro-story contributions to the greater work.
My passion projects, are the stories I want to tell. There are worlds and characters that are trapped in my head and heart. I want to share them. I don’t know who they’re for besides me, but I like to think they resonate with someone. My goal then is just to get them out there.
My favorite stories to tell are of justice, and redemption. The characters I discover through my work are often tortured and reluctant, outsiders, a gallery of rogues.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
It’s actually a great time to be an artist, the internet and social media has really opened avenues for us that didn’t exist before. To that end, I’d say the biggest challenge facing us right this moment is anything that hampers net neutrality. We really need to rally together and defeat this specter. Media giants must not be allowed to control the exposure of independent artists.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Social media is the main way to follow me these days. I’m working on getting into more conventions locally and nationally. You can almost count on me being at Adepticon every year, and this winter I’ll be at Dupage Mighty Con.
The best way to support any artist is to let them know, if the avenue of communication is available, that you’ve been moved by their work. Likes and follows on social media are silver but comments are gold. I do have a patreon if people want to offer financial support as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.legendarysisters.com
- Email: d.forrest@studiodoggebi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiodoggebi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Studio.Doggebi/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoggebiSisters
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/studioDoggebi
Image Credit:
d.Forrest
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