2025
Maine Fungi Fest
Featured Artist
Brandy Dawn

Brandy Dawn was given her first art lesson by her mother at the age of 5. She was taught how to draw a bunny, and if you know her personally you would find the subject of that drawing to be somewhat prophetic - or at least mildly humorous. The moment she realized what you could create with something as simple as a line, she found herself possessed with a lifelong hunger to create art. 

 

She began her classical training in art with K-12 elective classes, workshops at the library, private tutors, summer camp classes - basically anything and everything that she could do to learn and grow her craft. She studied art in college and has a degree in Graphic Design and Media Studies. 

 

She spent much of her art career struggling to find her style. She jumped from medium to medium and now finds herself with a potpourri of knowledge and skills in a plethora of different art disciplines.

 

She finally found the style that resonated with her in the most unlikely of places - an unwanted 101 class that was required for her to take as a senior after transferring colleges. She resented the class and grumbled and moaned everyday she had to drag her portfolio across campus in the hot Florida sun, but her distaste was quickly forgotten after the first milestone project. She found that she had nothing to prove to anyone and nothing to lose with her assigned projects, so she decided to just get as weird as possible with it. She was told to draw something from nature, so she cobbled together a composition of a few pieces of driftwood and dried flowers and decided to go back to the beginning, to the most basic element of art. Line. 

 

She felt as though something precious was returned to her - the gift her mother gave her so long ago - that beautiful, simple line. She felt the fire and passion for her craft reignite and started to create more detailed and intricate pieces. 

 

She describes herself as a Pen and Ink Mastermind and defines her work as the combination of Line, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Cubism, and something she’s always known as “The Artist Mark”. She’s had the wind in her blood most of her life and moved around the states a lot when she was younger - but now finds her roots already growing deep in the North.