We recently connected with Jacob Daley and have shared our conversation below.

Jacob, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I have been working on an ongoing series titled “Vignettes of Joy,” where I create mini-portraits of notable people such as Lizzo, Rod (TikToker – @justme.rod), Shania Twain, KallMeKris (TikToker), Alexandria Ocascio-Cortez and more. This series highlights and pays tribute to those using their influence to spread joy and positivity in times of distress and darkness. My art style is a unique, captivating method using a modern twist on the centuries-old technique of stippling or the sole use of dots. Daley’s purpose for these portraits is two-fold: Firstly, to show gratitude to each of these people for what they are doing and to show them that their value is greatly appreciated.Secondly, to spread these individuals’ positive impact to an even wider audience. Callie Goodwin, owner of Sparks of Joy Co – a positive message based card company, received a portrait in the fall of 2020 as a sign of gratitude for her business’ mission and the positive content posted on her TikTok account. ““My Vignette of Joy hangs in my office and there isn’t a single day that I don’t stare at it and feel so much joy and gratefulness for this incredibly unique work of art. Truly indescribable”, says Callie about her mini-portrait.
Vignettes of Joy was started in the fall of 2020 when spirits were at an all-time low and joy was as rare as a roll of toilet paper. After an initial run of 12 tribute portraits, the series was put on hold as my workload increased heavily. Almost exactly two years later, in the fall of 2022, the series has had a resurgence with several new portraits created and no end in sight.
Besides the meaningful mission, what sets these portraits apart is their unique style and creation. I developed this style in my free time over 3-4 years before having the chance to take his art career full-time. My style merges the century’s old technique of stippling with the modern four-color processing used in digital printing. Each piece is stippled in a single layer using only 4 colors, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black. My works gain depth as each layer is applied in varying intensities to make a full-color image.

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?

My name is Jacob Daley, and I am full-time artist and illustrator. I specialize in a modern take on the stippling style. My work is created using just 4 colors of dots done in monochromatic layers. By applying each color of dots in different frequencies and densities, I am able to achieve full-color works rife with depth and richness of color. While I did attend art school, and received a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, I did not start doing art consistently until late 2019 after experiencing intense mental health struggles. The repetition of dots helps me get into a meditative-like state where i am able to simultaneously feel grounded and able to process my emotions in a healthy environment. My art career took off after I began offering commissions of Pet Portraits and Human Portraits. I quickly found myself with a consistent waitlist and the opportunity to go full time.
Over the past year 2 years I have been developing a style of illustration that pairs my 4-color stippling with the 1930s cartoon style, often referred to as “rubber-hose”. As this style has developed I have begun offering Illustration commissions as well.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was born with a genetic disorder called Ocular Albinism. Essentially it is an incurable ocular disorder that makes a lot of things in life, things the average person doesn’t think about, more difficult and sometimes impossible. From an early age I was told, by professionals and relatives, that I shouldn’t pursue a career that requires good sight in order to be successful. With symptoms like, nystagmus (rapid back and forth), low vision acuity despite glasses/contacts (my vision with glasses: 20/55, without glasses: 20/65), and rapid daily muscle fatigue, Ocular Albinism is not easily overcome and does not have surgery such as Lasik to cure. Despite that, my passion and joy for art pushed me to follow my dream of becoming an artist and be an example of how a disability should have no say in whether or not you can achieve your dreams.
Every day is a challenge, with some days harder than others when my eyes just aren’t able to keep up or focus, but the joy I feel when creating is worth it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission is two-fold: To create a safe-space for myself where I can work on and maintain good mental health while doing something that fills me with joy.
To be an example for others of how if you have a dream, or a passion, and are afflicted with a disability, to fight for that dream; disability and naysayers be damned.

Contact Info:

• Website: daleydots.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daley.dots/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@daley.dots