Dawn M. Wayand began drawing at the age of 6 and painting at the age of 9. While she took a break from art after high school, she picked it up once again 15 years later when she pursued a Visual Arts degree and took a few visual arts classes at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2011, she moved to New York City, where the vibe of the city fueled her creativity to create art at a more steady pace.
Since moving to NYC, not only has Dawn embraced creating and expressing herself through her artwork tenfold, but she has also taken off in the area of photography starting the photography workshop group, NYC Digital Photography Workshops, where she has taught numerous workshops on studio lighting, studio and outdoor portraiture, as well as creative shoots for model portfolios and fashion. While she closed NYCDPW, she still teaches numerous workshops on studio lighting, studio and outdoor portraiture and headshots, as well as creative photography and much more through her own photography business at Dawn M. Wayand Photography. She has written almost 100 feature educational articles, tutorials, gear reviews, and eBooks geared toward up-and-coming photographers looking to hone their craft for online resources such as the Adorama Learning Center, B&H Photo Explora, Digital Photography School, and Tether Tools websites.
Dawn is currently available for commissioned artwork as well as individual portrait sessions, actor and corporate headshots, model portfolios and fashion photography assignments, freelance writing on photography for online resources and print publications, and for private photography instruction. For more information, contact Dawn at dawn@dawnmwayand.com.
Artist Statement
“I have been an artist in some shape or form using various mediums of choice since I was six years old. With my main body of work being photography over the last decade, my canvas artwork tends to be more realistic as I like to recreate what I see, but I give it an artistic spin using vibrant colors, shapes, lines, textures, and splashes. In the last few years, I’ve been dabbling in three-dimensional canvas artwork, adding either heavy textures, paper, or musical instrument pieces to my canvases to bring them to life. I’ve also been experimenting with the abstract as I have learned to let my feelings and mood dictate my brush. I am generally inspired mostly by things I see around me, my travels, and music. Having been to so many destinations in the world, I have been able to capture my journeys through photographs and I am able to create whimsical images in my art that reflect moods and new senses of meaning and awareness I felt after traveling domestically and abroad. I have also been to many museums around the globe and I come away inspired by those artists and eager to apply my own style – which is constantly under development as I am always progressively learning – to produce my own unique artwork. With my photography, I always try to capture the best part of my subjects, while with my paintings and drawings, I try to capture accuracy or put a fun spin on ordinary subjects. My work spans several mediums and various genres as I am always trying new things, but my subjects always represent my interests, abilities, and the mood I am in at the time. What drives me to continue to create and experiment is the responses I receive to my work and how others enjoy my finished pieces. It is always nice to hear – for any artist – how amazing their work is or to sell a piece that they created. Just the fact that my art affects someone personally and they enjoy it enough to want to have it displayed in their home is such a motivator for me to continue doing what I do.”
~ Dawn M. Wayand
