We were lucky to catch up with Dione-Ariadne Bergland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dione-Ariadne, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I always feel like this sounds cliché, but I always LOVED to draw. Since I was a kid I would draw on walls and on pictures (not ideal of course). Whenever I went to a loved ones house I would ask for a paper and pencil. That way I was never bored.
I went to a course of watercolor when I was little, but other than that I don’t have a degree in art.
But I remember that I started to really take it seriously in 2010 when I started to do pencil illustrations. I started drawing my loved ones and also got a few commissions.
However when I started college I got busy and stopped.
In 2018 I started to do paintings with my aunt, Mirna Kierindongo who is a painter, so she would give me tips. We would spent hours researching to make art. So I would say this speeded my process and reminded me how art would make me feel.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

During the pandemic I soon realised that materials are not as accesible. This made me research on Youtube and I found out about Procreate and the iPad. So I saved up to purchase what I needed to start digital art. In 2021 I opened my IG (@d.a.s.b.art) to get over the fear of sharing my art, because digital illustration was new to me. I decided that eventough it wasn’t yet what I wanted it to be I would share anyway.
I watched a lot of videos and even signed up on platforms where I could learn from.

When I started making digital art, I didn’t see many joyful art of people with my skin color. So I really wanted to create a page where the different shades are represented. And also not only “perfect” skin or “perfect” body.

Besides illustrating I also host Sip and Paint for private events. This also has my heart, because I get to share my knowledge and give others the confidence. Often times I experience that people that don’t have art as a hobby/work think they are not able to paint. That’s why I let the side of creative therapy come forth to encourage them to let their inner child come to play. And the results always leave us full of joy.

One of the most unique projects I worked on was making illustrations for two kids who had oral presentation at school. That was something I never thought about doing, but when they asked I was super excited.

My goal with my clients is to come as close as possible to what they want. In the same breath I challenge my creativity more and more each time. I am open to a variety of projects as long as it fits the style I present on my pages (dasb.art or dasb.simplesa)

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

An artist ones told me that if I wanted to create good art I needed to have a niche. This gave me a lot of frustration in the beginning. I was so obsessed with finding the ONE thing that identified me as an artist. I couldn’t find it, because I am someone that loves to explore and experiment with art.
So I don’t see that I can find a niche.

Right now I am back to experimenting with different mediums of traditional art.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

One of my goals is to start illustrating on products. I am working on seeing my art come to live by illustrating for books, calenders, adult coloring books, etc.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: D.a.s.b.art or dasb.simplesa
• Facebook: Https://www.facebook.com/dioneariadne.art