LOCAL Houston | The City Guide OCTOBER 2015 | Page 32

ART

OUR OWN LOCAL WARHOL
DANDEE WARHOL, that is. The Philippines native has wasted no time setting up his own little creative community in Houston complete with a Star Wars festival. His contemporary work is a mash-up of modern
art with pop art influences. His grandmother moved him and his brother to the US at the age of 8 – “but
I didn’t start painting until I got into college, attending business school at UofH. I
wanted to find an outlet to get away from stress due to a full-time job and school, so
one day I was studying at Barnes and Noble and I picked up a Van Gogh book. This
inspired me to start painting. So in 2006 midway through business school, I bought
paint supplies and started painting. I’ve never stopped since.” The self-taught, colorblind
artist specializes in meticulous geometric patterns with nostalgic, iconic cartoon characters from the 80s
and 90s. His work is positive and smile-inducing with its bright color schemes and the larger than life depictions of pop culture that inspire him. “A lot of my ideas come from my dreams. The image of
my first painting came from a dream and it was stuck in my head; painting helped
release it. Other notable artists have shaped my work such as KAWS, Lichtenstein,
Warhol, and with the rising presence of social media, I can now follow other amazing
artists and see what cool stuff they’re making. Current trends and pop culture have
big impacts to my inspiration as well.”
By day, Dandee is an atelierista – a studio teacher at Little Wonders Learning Center in Sugar Land –
where he teaches art to kids from age two to high school. “I came in to visit the school and I had
a great chat with Marjon, the art director of the school, and her sister Maryam, who
is the school director. They offered me the job as an art teacher and I’ve been with
them since. I’m really happy to be an educator for such an amazing school and especially with the new state-of-the-art school that’s being built from the ground up.” All
we can say is we’re thankful Dandee is passing down his gift and passion for art to tomorrow’s artists.
www.dandeewarhol.com
www.littlewondersschool.com
By Carla Valencia de Martinez
Photography by Anthony Rathbun

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L O C A L

| october 15