"As pencil meets paper, Californian artist PeeMonster creates a curious, yet charming graphite world in which we are all welcome. Although eerie at a first look, this land of naïve characters and misunderstandings is an oasis for the artist..." -Roxanne Golding, Schön! Magazine (from "PeeMonster: The Interview/")
from the Artist...
hi, thank you for coming to see my art.. i’m based in california. i draw to communicate when i can’t find the words. . . my art is a means of processing everything within and without my own perception.. it is a translation of what i feel, think, see, from my heart to the outside world. i am inspired by everything, and choose to live my life surrounded by love. i like to feel the universe move from under my skin.
sometimes i feel like a dream is a release and sanctuary from what we perceive to be real..
in real, you’re at the mercy of silly customs, culture, and society.. in your dreams you’re at the mercy of every conscious and sub-conscious thought or idea that has ever entered the circuits of your brain through any and every means possible. i think we’re truely free in our dreams and that’s why we don’t believe it’s real..
PeeMonster (AKA 'Deidre Morton'), though her creative journey has been life-long, began her fine art journey soon after entering college, despite having had no formal fine art training. Originally a student of animation and film from age 14, Deidre was no stranger to creating worlds and formulating the characters who would inhabit them at a fast pace.
At age 16, while still in highschool, Deidre attended CalArts CSSSA (2002!) program for one month, where she deeply explored the world of animation at a college level, including the importance of simply taking the time to observe and draw at a slow pace, focusing on bringing out deeper details that were generally avoided in drawing for cartoon animation.
When Deidre graduated highschool in 2003, she entered college as an animation major. But she soon found herself falling and more more intrigued by the world of fine detail she could achieve with graphite pencil while doodling away her anxiety in class, rather than by the classes themselves.. That is when PeeMonster was born. Essentially, Deidre 'drew' away from formal schooling and has now been drawing professionally for nearly two decades.
"I love animation, but this makes more sense to me, spiritually," she shares, "Though I still heavily desire to create characters and tell the stories in my head just the same as I did when I wanted to make cartoons for children, there's a cathartic, therapeutic, and very spiritual experience for me within the process of creating my artwork.. finding my way into, through, and out of the intimate details and patterns while I am drawing with the tiny tips of pencils. It is so necessary for me to slow down and observe the worlds in my head.. and I can better cope with the world outside my head for it." ♡