Darin Michelle (Darin Gilliam) is a mixed media artist from Annapolis, Maryland, whose work explores identity, political movements, and the essential need for simplicity and rest. Her artistic style has evolved through a lifetime shaped by personal experience, music, and countercultural spaces that value authenticity over perfection. Bold color palettes and gritty textures anchor her work, reflecting a visual language deeply influenced by street art, underground cultures, and a lifelong devotion to color theory.

With a mother who encouraged her creativity and a father who was a jazz musician, Darin was immersed early in creative expression and encouraged to pursue art as both discipline and freedom. Music continues to be a driving force in her practice, particularly the improvisational spirit of jazz and the energy of live performance. Her visual style draws inspiration from the jazz tradition as well as her time immersed in hardcore, house, neo-soul, and hip-hop music scenes, alongside a lasting love of skateboard culture. These influences inform not only the aesthetic of her work, but also its rhythm, movement, and emotional intensity.

Reflecting on her formative years, Darin notes, “Growing up in the ’90s, I was drawn to countercultures—spaces where people embraced distinctive styles rooted in honesty rather than perfection. That spirit continues to shape both my creative voice and the way I approach my work.” This grounding in subcultures has allowed her art to remain raw, intuitive, and deeply personal.

Darin’s process is guided less by preconception and more by presence. She approaches the canvas as a ritual space, allowing intuition, materials, and emotion to direct the outcome. As she explains, “I rarely know what I’m creating until I’m standing in front of the canvas. The act of making feels deeply spiritual to me—a ritual of listening to how the materials and the surface want to move.” This openness to process gives her work an organic quality, balancing intensity with moments of rest, and structure with freedom.