I consider myself a multidisciplinary artist, with a particular affinity for graphite on paper. I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design where I received my BFA in Animation. For the last several years I have been living in Brooklyn, New York, working primarily in post-production VFX and animation. For the past year, I have been focused on developing my own artistic practice, experimenting with incorporating modern techniques learned from working in digital media with traditional mediums to create my own visual language.

Most of my recent work has been exploring overarching themes of femininity, ethereality, and existentialism. I draw inspiration from my own self-reflection and life experiences as well as from various movements of art and philosophy throughout history; lately finding much inspiration in the work of expressionist and symbolist artists and their approach to illustrating abstract concepts with iconography and evocative imagery.

Pencils have been my favorite medium since I was a child. I’ve always had the opinion that pencils have the potential to create anything you can imagine–you can uncover anything on a blank piece of paper by placing the right values in the right place. There’s also an aspect of accessibility to pencil that I consider particularly unique, you don’t necessarily need expensive materials or a large studio to create something compelling and beautiful, you can start with just a pencil and paper.

Along with graphite and other traditional materials, I love exploring digital means as well; combining traditional materials with digital processes such as using 2D and 3D programs to further manipulate the images I’ve created on paper, adding color and motion. I like to begin with traditionally drawn or painted pieces before moving on to digitally alter them as I find that the physicality of creating images on paper and canvas are one of the aspects I love most about creating art. When digitally manipulating the images, I maintain the surface texture and mark-making of the original piece to keep the sense of tactility that comes with physical works of art.

Scale can be an important and powerful aspect to consider when communicating a concept. I personally find particularly small works of art to hold a certain preciousness to them. Smallness brings assumptions of delicacy or fragility, traits that historically have been attributed to femininity. With that in mind, my piece In Softness, on view at the Small Works Exhibition, is meant to evoke that sense of delicacy. I wanted to utilize a juxtaposition of imagery to depict the endurance and strength of qualities society typically views as inferior to those associated with masculinity. Under pressure, the chains break, but the ribbon endures.

To contact me or see my other work:
Website: codileefant.com
Instagram: @co.di.lee

Small Works 2022 includes 200 works of art by 200 artists from 32 states and runs through Friday, December 23, 2022.