Taco took his instinct for storytelling and layered it under his surreal imagination, giving him a dual identity, switching between an illustrator led by dreams and a designer trained in discipline.

Mira walked away from a thriving career in graphic design and into an exciting new chapter of restless illustration that is pulling attention online.

Emon Surakitkoson didn’t go to art school. She didn’t grow up with a paintbrush in hand, either. But within three years of selling her first $10 painting, she was installing work for Marriott Hotels and getting recognized as one of D.C.’s top emerging artists.

In the couple of years since Melika’s sneaker-sculptures started ricocheting across feeds, the Coventry-born artist has become a name to know in the crossover space between footwear culture and fine art.