Say Hello to Darryl.
Darryl Umoh is a visual artist born and raised in PG County, Maryland. Now based in Philadelphia, Darryl’s passions for the arts have always been with him since he was young and he hopes to turn it into a beautiful career. He uses acrylic and/or oil paint on canvas to create vivid, colorful, eye-popping portraits and abstract pieces to not only stand out and create an appealing image but to evoke emotion in his work. He first started painting in 2015 and since then has showcased his work in a couple art shows here in there in the art scene of Washington D.C., selling original pieces and prints of his work. He also sells prints of his work on his Etsy Shop. Not only does he paint his vision of the world and himself for everyone to see, he also inspires others with his work which is a big deal and goal to Darryl. From drawing and sketching to paintings, Darryl hopes to take his passions and branch out from the D(M)V and Philadelphia and become a well-known freelance artist, creating for his happiness as well.
You can find Darryl on Twitter and Instagram, most importantly, make sure to purchase his art right here.
What inspires your art?
“I’ve always felt myself drawn to female energy I just really admire women and their strength so I started painting them, especially WOC. So much that I wanted to showcase WOC in actual colors I see them in. I’m also inspired by gradients (meaning behind my @ name). I love colors and blending them, I feel like each color has meaning and carries emotion so in a way gradients are like pictures of emotions, I’ve always had an eye for color so I incorporate it into my art. I’m always using colors that either appeal to each other or have so much contrast with each other that it makes the image im painting pop and stand out.”
What caused you to begin doing art?
“Not sure. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, like really young. I know the first thing I started drawing was anime but ever since I was young I’ve been into art, I never took classes.”
What makes you different from all the other artists?
“I really suck at talking about myself so honestly I don’t know but, wow the artists in our generation like my peers they’re all so amazing and really inspire me to be more myself. They’re all so different we all are. I’ve been told my art is very pop art-ish and dreamy. It’s also been described as abstract realism. I really like to just let people decide for themselves what my art is to them.”
What can we expect from you in the near future?
“More pieces! I’m really busy and tired lately and self doubt be crushing me [laughter] but, I’ll never let it stop me! I’ll get thru what I’m going through and put out more work, I’m hoping to have my first solo show sometime this year, maybe.”
