Born in Greenville, South Carolina, and currently creating daily in Clearwater, Florida, Dakota Maphis is a full-time artist whose work is dedicated to sparking imagination and conversation through a diverse range of artistic mediums. Each medium is chosen to best communicate the dynamic interplay between visual art and viewer engagement.
She is best recognized for pioneering Digital PHra (Photos Revised Art), a unique style she developed that relies heavily on the boundless realms of imagination. This innovative process begins with a photograph that serves as both muse and canvas. By manipulating the existing pixels—pushing and pulling them into new configurations—she transforms the original image into a dramatic expression that resonates with her life experiences or current thematic projects. This method treats pixels with the same fluidity and expressiveness as traditional paint, allowing her to sculpt digital landscapes that are as evocative as they are visually compelling.
Recently, Dakota Maphis has ventured into oil painting, a medium that offers both excitement and precision. Whether crafting portraits or surreal compositions, oil painting allows for a more meticulous exploration of themes and narratives. This medium enhances her ability to delve deeper into the textures of human emotion and the subtleties of surreal storytelling. For Dakota Maphis, art is not just a profession but a lifelong journey—a means to articulate profound thoughts and emotions that stem from love and care. Through her work, she aims to inspire meaningful dialogue and provide a visual language for experiences that are both universally relatable and deeply personal.