Fine Art

Biography



DeSande R is an educated artist born in Chicago, Illinois, and currently resides in Carbondale, Illinois. DeSande recognized her talent since the age of five. While living a quiet life, she spent most of her time studying people. She observed the mannerisms and expressions of people during family gatherings. Hiding in a corner was her special place for this observance.

 

While attending high school, DeSande’s influences were Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Michelangelo. They reflected images that appealed to her style and taste. Later in college she researched African-American artists such as Laura Wheeler-Waring, Adrian Piper, Archibald Motley, Jr, and Jacob Lawrence. From that moment on, she knew that painting would be a prominent part of her life.

 

To continue to fine-tune her talent after high school, she attended Northern Illinois University. After two and a half years of undergraduate core curriculum classes, she took a break. Ten years later, with some hardships behind her, DeSande was ready to return to school. That ten-year interlude prepared her for continuing her education. Southern Illinois University Carbondale gave her the opportunity to continue her endeavors in art. She received her bachelor of fine art degree and master of fine art degree in painting from SIUC. During her time at SIUC she has received four prestigious scholarships/fellowships from the Illinois Humanities Council in Chicago, the Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunity Program (ICEOP), Graduate Dean's Fellowship, and the Celine Chu Award. This fresh start was a rebirth of DeSande’s talent. Her inspiration for each day is that she was creating a part of history.

 

DeSande currently teaches at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois. Although teaching keeps her quite busy, she continues to work in the community and exhibit her art. Through the past eighteen years she has exhibited her work in Kansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, China, Canada, Arkansas, Ohio, and Tennessee. DeSande has been in ten solo exhibitions, thirty group exhibitions, and has fourteen art publications. She has done work for conferences, special events, commissions, and volunteer artwork for student organizations and SIUC instructors. Her current favorite artists are Rembrandt van Rijn and Laura Wheeler-Waring. Most of her research and artwork reflect Rembrandt’s painting style. DeSande also ventured into photography. Her most recent show encompassed portraits of influential people in her community done in oil paintings and analog photography.