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Hey kiddies!
At this point, work is still in session and school is out. Many of you are parents planning your summer vacations, while the rest of you college kids are looking for some wild events. LOOK NO FURTHER! I have some line-ups on my events calendar and will have more to come when the weeks get closer. If a majority of you vacation in Los Angeles (preferably the Hollywood area), be sure to list on your must see the "Beetle House" located on Hollywood Blvd. The Beetle House is a tribute to Tim Burton, himself. No he is not at all affliated with this restaurant/bar but it is an honor to say that my 2 tribute pieces "Recently Deceased (Burton Tribute)" and "Stain Boy (Burton Tribute)" are both displayed at the Beetle House until August! Make your reservations now and be sure to #dkerperarts or tag DKerper Arts on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook! If you're a baseball and/or Simpsons fan in Fresno, there may be a show for you. June 29 at Chukchansi Stadium, WyseFools will be hosting an all Simpsons themed art show during the Fresno Grizzlies baseball game. I will be holding my own booth during the game with a special Simpsons Tribute deal only being sold during this event. And once I'm out, I'm out. More details to come!! Thank you Vendor Village for asking me to be part of this event! And lastly, I'm very honored to be a part of the Fresno Skateboard Salvage group to help benefit quality new gear and boards for kids by donating a piece of work to help raise money. I'd like to thank Rodney Rodriguez for having me be a part of this awesome event!!! I also have some ideas in the works to partner with Rodney in the future months to come, more to come soon!! Thanks to everyone for your support and love!! Have a safe and awesome Summer 2017!!! - D. Kerper
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 Hey everyone!
It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything lately. So much has been happening in my journey through art, let me tell you. I've been experimenting with other options of materials lately, trying on what I can do to better myself through my work and having a better understanding of my own visuals of it. Through personal experiences, trials n' errors, and just everything happening in the world... I mostly wanted to figure out the topic of my pieces. I have lacked on that lately when it came to story telling and so forth. So without further ado, I like to introduce the newest project I am working on and have been planning for about a year.... The Sweet Temptation Pack! I have been inspired by old intermission ads, Grease (Pink Ladies/T-Birds), and the 90s ABC/Disney cartoon "Recess" a lot in this series I have be working so hard on. I wanted to make a more modern and vintage mixed appeal to some of these characters. As many know, I am obsessed with classic films, old theaters, and vintage nostalgia to the point where I feel I was born at the wrong place and at the wrong time. So bringing more of this back, I had hopes to have more fun with this project and looking forward to bringing MORE characters in the weeks/months along. For now, you can personally buy these sticker packs of 4 at Grizzly Fest 2017 on April 29 at Chukchansi Park in Downtown Fresno, afterwards I will be holding these at my studio in Broadway Studios until further notice. I know so many of you have patiently waited for new content and things to happen, like the coffee table book I've been working on. Didn't realize writing a book would be so difficult. So that will be another continued project and HOPEFULLY out this year. Another question I've been getting, "Danielle, why aren't you selling this on Etsy??" and honestly, Etsy has been a roller coaster to keep up with on my own. I will be posting stickers and so forth that is in my studio onto Etsy soon, I'm looking at mid-May being MORE updated for you all. I would like to thank you all for your patience and guidance through all of this. I have been working on other projects that are more associated with galleries and personal topics. I can't believe I am celebrating 2 years of D. Kerper Arts and I'm still hustling through it all. Thank you all again, and keep going! Never know what will hit you! -D. Kerper  Hey everyone!!!
Can you believe it!! I finally have my new updated website. More content and more art to share. It has been a crazy couple of months. I must say, I am sorry for the lack of posts as I have been shooting for shows like crazy! Let me tell ya, Long Beach Comic Con was amazing!!! I got to meet amazing independent artists and celebrities. Soak up a lot of knowledge and wisdom on behalf of Tad Stones (Creator of Darkwing Duck). Yes, you read it right... I had a chance to meet and talk with Tad Stones. Along side that I made some amazing new friends and local Long Beach creators who gave me the ins and outs of what I can expect out of this big girl shows. Aside from that, I have some big news. I have a studio space FINALLY in collaboration with an amazing local artist and friend, Darren Hurst. Please be sure to check us out ever first Thursday of the month during the year of 2017 at Broadway Studios in Fresno. For location, go to contacts to find the address and Studio #. Things have been hard to keep up with these days, as I have more art, photo gigs, and soon come more cakes to adhere to. So please keep in touch through Facebook.com/DKerperArts and please check back on here for more cool and amazing things to happen in 2017!!!! Happy New Years everyone!!! Hey all!
It's been awhile, I know! Well, what can I say? I needed to take a break from the art world to figure things out for myself. Gather all thoughts and figure out what I wanted to do next with D.Kerper Arts. So far I'm deathly excited for Long Beach Comic Con and the future shows I have mapped out (see events). I'm trying to understand what the best place to make the best quality shirts, hats, and boards for you all. I am hoping to go local and support Fresno the way it has supported me. But it is hard with a budge like mine. I'm happy to see the horizon and be able to walk into State College next year!!! I can't believe it's finally going to happen, and I can't wait to bring my art along with me. So much is going on in my personal life that I can't believe I'm still standing. But the best thing is the support I get from all of you. I can't wait to take on new challenges and show off my new series I have plotted out. For Long Beach Comic Con, I will be making a tribute to (drum roll.......) Beauty and the Beast! I KNOW!! I have had something haunting me to obsess over this movie for some odd reason. Belle was my favorite Disney princess as a child and I thought maybe my childhood was just reaching out to me... turns out (in case you live under a rock) the new live action film will be in theaters NEXT YEAR and we will be celebrating 25 years of the animated film (I don't feel old inside, no [pft!]) .. I can't wait to get through this and see what more projects I can line up in the near future. For now, the mural I previously announced ended up dropping. But that is ok! With one bust comes another great opportunity! Never give up and pout at it all. No time for that!! I hope you all have a great summer as I will be trying my best to continue with updates and so forth!! I'm so excited for future shows and I can't wait to see you all in support of local art love!! - Danielle Kerper It has been a adventurous year for D.Kerper Arts. Growing this website and my career as a freelance artist has been an experience I never thought in a million years I'd face. I have met amazing and interesting people throughout this experience of starting out in art shows. There is so much more going on in my life as a freelance artist that I can not wait to share and explore. I want to make sure I take you all along with me throughout this journey. So what is going on as of now? I was asked to be part of something amazing with Sound Stage - Legends Music store. Though my schedule has taken over I will be contributing time over the summer to paint my first mural with the local music shop for their project I'll be announcing soon! I'm super excited to be part of this and I can't wait to get started. April 30th, Fresno Underground Arts and Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden are at it again with the 2nd Annual Tim Burton Tribute Show. I am fully excited for this show and I can't wait to show my love for that man! I will be showing my tribute to Stain Boy, Alice in Wonderland, Nightmare before Christmas, Beetlejuice (i will also be dressed up as Lydia Deetz), James and the Giant Peach, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and Batman. This is a free event and suitable for all ages. I look forward to seeing you all there!! May 6th, I am honored to be part of Women's Art and Music Festival located at The Tower Theater. Who are WAMFF? WAMFF is a collective effort by local women in Fresno, the Rape Counseling Services and the Women’s Studies Program at Fresno State. Our goal is to celebrate the local talent of women in Fresno and to heal through art and music of the destructive epidemic that gender-based violence creates. We want to encourage women not only to develop their art and music but also their professional careers. This is why all of our efforts from this event will be donated to paid internship for Women’s Studies students who want to work in the elimination of gender-based violence. - Women's Art and Music Festival of Fresno I'm very excited to be part of this awareness and speak out about this situation. It is too silent. The greatest thing about this is to be a part of a multicultural women's show. Please take a moment to check out their website and donate for the cause. Lastly, I am VERY excited to announce I will be taking D.Kerper Arts to Long Beach Comic Con, Sept 17-18!!!! I will be throwing more information out there soon!!! Thank you everyone for the local support in my work!! I could not do this without you! - Danielle
 Hey everyone! I want to give a huge shout out to a friend who would love your help!!! My friend and entrepreneur Jenny Rae is opening a fund for a music video project. Details are in the video!! Along side your donation, if you give $25+ you will receive Phyllis Jungle themed stickers designed by ME!! Help out this awesome gal and stay groovy! PhyllisHerman.com Well guys and gals!! For a while now, I've been dying to work on a big project of designing. Making D.Kerper Arts something more than just Fine Arts. After much sit down and figuring out, I have discovered a way to take my work into what I wanted to see happen in my life. Clothing. Thanks to Society 6, artists like myself are given that opportunity to create for people like you. Not JUST shirts either, I'm happy to see my little girl, Porcelain Doll, on pillows, throw blankets, etc. I will be opening up more pieces into my new shop and create up coming designs soon!! For now, you're able to be part of the D.Kerper clan and purchase your own Porcelain Doll piece! I will be reopening my Etsy shop again when I gather much inventory. New sticker designs and pieces WILL be available there soon! Hold tight!! I will also be looking at new opportunities in projects and hopefully collaborations soon! Cross your fingers!  Hey everyone,
So I wanted to bring up a tricky topic on everyone. I would HIGHLY appreciate if everyone gets involved in this. This isn't some gimmick to have dirt on anyone and know NO NAMES will be involved in this project. SO.. bare with me on this topic: All my life I have faced insecurities. Insecurities of being a dwarf, being overweight for my stature even though to the naked eye I was skinny but in reality I was 30lbs overweight. I was insecure about having big thighs when the rest of me was like a stick and I was very insecure about my education. More than anything, I was very insecure about my smile when someone once said to me "you're pretty, but man you'd look so much better if you had straighter teeth!" Building these insecurities I closed myself off to dating, meeting people, and felt low on myself. It took a great deal of courage and self motivation to get me out of this. Though I have met more dimwits and dickwads recently, I have learned that I'm not who they think I am. I am someone of passion, strive, knowledge, strength, and loyalty. I know I have a fire in me that can burn for miles and I have a smile that can bring people to a good mood. SO WITH THIS SAID... I want to know what you're insecurities have been of yourself? What someone said about you to close you off from being who you are... What is holding you back from who you really are? Please either just private message me if you don't feel comfortable posting in comments. I'm doing this for my next collaboration show in March and I feel like this topic needs to be addressed as we are all facing something that is holding us back from being our true intentional selves. Hey everyone! Here we are in 2016, and already I have an overwhelming list of ideas to push for D.Kerper Arts. In the time spent promoting myself in 2015, I have been able to meet numerous talented people and see a brighter future in myself. Collaborating shows with Fresno Underground Arts, Culture Cloths and Le Mode, as well as a solo show at Tower Tshirt Factory, have helped me understand the work it takes to get to where I would like to be. So far it has paid off well. I have counted 10 shows under my belt in the last 6 months. Along with that, have studied some experience in blacksmith, welding, and creating molds for any future sculptures. I have taken on extra challenges by signing up for art club and becoming treasure in my studies at Fresno City College.This has made me more driven in work for myself in time managing, financials, and experience as a starting entrepreneur and artist. What to expect. I hope to build further in this career path while still studying art and going after my degree. Though I have built an astounding history for D.Kerper Arts, I need to look at spreading out my work in time. My Etsy shop will reopen by the end of January. With that, I will take on requests for commissions that are up to par, and would love to collaborate more with other artists. I will be opening up things like past giclee art, stickers, buttons, even originals on Etsy.com. By summer, I hope to open up D.Kerper Arts with products such as tees and snapbacks. I personally want to thank you all for the endless amount of support in D.Kerper Arts as I am trying to further learn and grow through this process of building my own career and brand. You all are amazing as an individual and whole. I can't thank you enough.. See me rise in 2016. I would love to take you all on this ride! -Danielle. 
For more information, click on the icons to check out the events on Facebook. Well, well. It has been awhile. A lot has happened in the last month, departing me from doing any updates of any kind. Just know I haven't forgotten about any of you. I can't believe the way things have been. I have learned a lot about myself in the given month. From gray clouds over me, to the light finally shining on me. I started to see who people really are behind the tinted glass and understood my place in a lot of others lives. When it comes down to it, who will you rely on when times are rough? In the given month, I have come together with many artists and entrepreneurs to discover the answers to the questions I've been longing to find. I am so thankful for these people who have walked into my life and became more than just resources. Trying to discover what I want when it comes to building my own brand makes life more intense and less boring. Some people would give up on the opportunity due to lack of time, patience or money, but not I. I'm moving forward and trying to learn the easy and hard way of all of this. Though I had to sacrifice a few moments, I learn through the process of it all that life is what you make it out to be, and no one else can tell you otherwise. Though turn of events do happen and false hope may come at a rise, never give up on yourself. Because one drop of toxic negativity may grow as a wild fire. During this month, I have learned a lot about scheduling and financing. Counting down my balance and understanding that time is everything. What you put into yourself is worth every second of whether you come at a rise or stay in the shallow ends. Luckily I'm out of the shallow water and successfully swimming in the ocean. There will come a point where I know life will stand steady and I hope I can reach a small island for a break, but until then I just keep swimming. To fill in on my first showing held at Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden, hosted by Fresno Underground Art, I was super fortunate for the results of how well I sold and the people I met along the way. I decided to dress as Mario for the Nintendo theme and got a lot of love out of that. I was super grateful for the fellow artists (including Henry "Loco" Contreras, Zoombie Laurel of Zoombie Nation, Bryan "Bald" Lopez, Brian Vasquez, etc.) that have become my art brothers and mentors. I was super shy to showcase anything that day, and seriously showed me I should never let myself sink low when I have something worth fighting for. These guys are amazing artists themselves. I couldn't be anymore grateful than where I'm starting right now. In early September, I was featured again with Fresno Underground Arts at Tioga-Sequioa Brewing Company. It was such an amazing show as it not only introduced me to a larger group of fellow artists (Gabriel "Wombat" Galicia, Anthony Gonzalez [of Wyze Fools], Elizabeth Castro, etc.), but it was also 6 days before my 27th birthday. I felt like there's no where else I'd rather be than doing what I love with great people and celebrating with the family and friends that came. I did bring in a cake to show my other skills but also just to celebrate. It was a great turn out and I left feeling warm hearten. I would like to thank my long-time friend Sami for helping me set up and handling the booth. I couldn't be more thankful or relieved to have her help that day. As for now, I have a few shows lined up in October through December. More information to come on future shows. As of now, for anyone in the Central California region, mark your calendars:
I would also like to give a warm show-out to Fresno Underground Art and Zoombie Nation. Please go stop by their show over at Zoombie's Tattoo Studio, October 1st for their "Leftover show"!! I love those guys to death and couldn't as for a better community to be in. Thank you all for the support you have given in the last few months. I feel like with you, I wouldn't be growing something that I've longing to strive for. -Danielle
 
"Carpe Diem quam minimum credula postero" Everyday I'd ask myself these questions: What's next? Is it all worth it? Why is this happening when all I do is try my hardest?! Well kids, I stopped asking those questions and just did it. During this summer, I have discovered that giving 100% of yourself entirely to others and devoting every aspect of time, energy and your life to them really takes a toll on who you really are. When you sit and wait for things to happen, all you do is doubt yourself. You eat it up and eventually digest that of what you think of yourself. If you keep planting that seed of negative doubt, eventually it will grow and become something killing you deep inside. Say your are worthless, then why be known? Say you are a horrible person, then why have friends? Say you are ugly, stupid, and a disgrace... then why are you loved? When there is at least one person out there that will go to the ends of the earth to watch you strive, all that negativity is meaningless. Why can't that one person be yourself? Once I saw two worlds taking over me, I started to realize how much doubt had eaten the best of my potential. From my strengths to my beliefs. Eventually I had to learn what was worth my energy, what was meant to happen and seize life in the course given. I started to understand that not everything comes out perfect as expected. Nothing ever will, so sorry to kill that joy for you. Another thing I have learned is what's worth chasing. People run after some of the most unusual things. Sometimes it's over a person they think will change their life, and other times it's after a chance. When given that chance, don't blow it. Take things slow, let it run its course and if all is worth while, go after it. Make the move and go big. Patience is one thing I will always lack but I'm learning to be acquaintances with it. That and having trust in people. When all else fails, just believe in yourself and the rest will make sense. In the last month, I have been super busy with cakes, family vacation and going after opportunities. Luckily I have been given a great opportunity to be a part of a local art show hosted by Fresno Underground Arts at Tioga Sequioa Beer Gardens. Keep dreaming everyone, you never know what will fall in place when you don't give up.
I stepped into a lot of realms lately. The month of June has been more than I could expect and balancing school, my hobby-job as a cake decorator, personal life, and work... You're bound to go insane. All you can do is run, and keep running. There have been many times where I have kept walking, then running so far, I didn't realize how far I actually was from home until I had to go back. People start to lose themselves and feel lonely after a while when you can't figure out how to express what you feel or why you feel this way. You feel selfish that you have to think of yourself for once, but at the same time when you carry a heavy heart to nurture for others... you're too much and it becomes toxic for you as a person, and the relationship of others around you. Social media and technology can also play a role in your level of sanity. For many years... I have carried a heavy heart. It's toxic for me to have and sometimes I think about ripping it out and throwing it to the ground, but I hold on to it. I keep it protected, hoping it never gets hurt so I can nurture those I care for the most. In the end, it is myself who hurts it. Because I care too deeply for others, I end up losing myself in the game of life and become lost and distraught. I feel like I don't do enough for others and give everything I have in my power until I have nothing left. Recently I discovered troubled things that have caused this heavy heart to break so much. It has been the cause of FEAR. Fear of rejection, disappointment, pain (hurting others and being hurt), having my own joy, falling in love, and having my own power. It's overwhelming when you've been locked inside a bubble for so long and once you're finally free from it...[POP!] what you expected out of the world isn't what it was made to be. Almost like the movie Bubble Boy. I've learned now to be stronger about it. I've had broken hearts from attempts to fall in love or being in love, have disappointed so many people in the past and present, hurt many people and have been hurt by them, been rejected countless times, have had to have power over someone, and I've had to gain my own joy without having someone in my life. In the end, I realized that all this happens, and I'm still alive. I still have this heavy-heart notion that I want to be there for the people that are broken, I want to help those who are trapped in a shell, and I want to be my own superhero and not anyone elses. I want to show them how much I care about them and will be by there side, while they learn to love and save themselves. We all live in this idea that we need a superhero to help us feel safe, but in the end we are all going to bite the bullet at some point so live through your own bravery, not by someone else. -Danielle In news of art: November 5, 2015 at Tower T-Shirt Factory in Fresno, CA I will have my first Art Hop showing! I'm excited to be featured in something that's outside of school and outside of my hometown! Visit https://www.etsy.com/shop/DKerperArts TODAY to purchase some of my photography and prints of my illustrations! All prints will be hand-signed by the artist. We all look to support one another in the darkest times, but I think in my own experience I take too much to heart to be someone’s hero and less of a friend or family member. So in this blog piece, I decided to be raw and hope that this will help anyone looking to understand that sometimes you do have to take a step back and realize everything will be ok, just sit and wait. Live life at the pace given, and don’t rush anything. For the last few weeks, I have taken time to reflect on my life through situations with school, work, friendships, family relationship and my own art. I started to understand for the last 10+ years I have tried to be the hero in everyone’s life, less of the friend sitting in the sidelines watching them fight in the arena, and a lesser amount of being my own hero. Within time, there’s a moment in any given person’s life when you attempt to help as much as your power will allow until it becomes too much for one individual to handle. It can cause a conflict between you and the person (whether friend, family member, etc.) and in the end they end up with a gift of a ship load of fish but never knew how to fish for themselves. This can cause more of a conflict in a relationship. When things get to the point where you smother one with your presence, you have to realize one major thing: it’s not always about you and sometimes a person just needs time for themselves to reflect on their own situation. When someone walks into your life, or has been in for a period of time, with conflicts and challenges, typically the person is looking for someone to express their emotion but isn’t asking for help. They hope they can rely on the person to just be there. This doesn’t mean give your recent pay check to the person to pay off all their bills and buy them a brand new car to take care of the beat up old one that is dead to begin with. This means be the support group, the shoulder to cry on and the resource they hope to expect out of a friend, a confidant, and otherwise until they can help themselves through this. Within time it will help the relationship between you and the person create a bond that isn’t labeled as high or low standard; it helps to show that the person can express to you as a person in trust and not as an imaginative figure. I use to live in the world of Disney, trying to be the sidekick and hero in every person’s life. Within time I gave up expecting more out of a person. I started to see now that life isn’t a Disney movie or the fact that heroes don’t always win the fight. You can lose friends and family out of the battle and you can lose yourself. The main thing you always want to remember is you can’t lose yourself in any of this. You have to start taking control of your own life and be the hero for yourself and the support group for others. With all this said, I can safely say I have had a productive few weeks. Cakes and art pieces are lined up for the month of June, I had a successful first Art Hop experience (but sadly couldn’t stay for all of it), and my finals are finally over. Hopefully I can keep up with the pace and graduate this year, if not this year then the following semester. I just have to keep swimming and hold my head up high. -Danielle
 This is by far the craziest experience I have ever let myself get into. For a long time I have been wanting to make a website for myself to promote my work nationally, if not internationally. I'm excited for what this brings for me. As of now, I have a lot of work I still have to do while creating this webpage. I still have sculptures that need attention, paintings that need to get started, and internships that need to be recognized and hunted for. I can't wait to share more of what I would call the diary of myself through art. Thank you to all those who have given me a lot of support and love throughout my life. It has encouraged me to move forward in all my adventures and roles.
-Danielle |
