A 2023 New York Times Best Children's Book
A 2023 Publisher's Weekly Best Picture Book
An NPR Best Book of the Year
***2024 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award winner***
“From the fireside tales in an African village, through the unspeakable passage across the Atlantic, to the backbreaking work in the fields of the South, this is a story of a people's struggle and strength, horror and hope. This is the story of American slavery, a story that needs to be told and understood by all of us. A testament to the resilience of the African American community, this book honors what has been and envisions what is to be.”
I’m delighted to share that this I illustrated this brilliant manuscript by Kwame Alexander, and it has been such an impactful experience! An American Story is the winner of the 2024 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award, and my first international awards as the receipient of two School Library Information book awards in the UK!! 🥳
Click the images below to check out some of the press from the launch, and find links to all of our starred reviews here!
Add pieces from the book to your art collection
Reproductions of the artwork featured in An American Story are in production! While select giclees are available for pre-sale purchase now, there will be additional pieces will be released in phases. Sign up here to get a heads up when they are available for pre-sale and purchase:
As always, many of my books can be found by searching Dare Coulter on Amazon, or you can click any of the pictures below:
Two lovely stories about me and my art!
The filming of this segment was so special, and is actually the reason that the black cowboys mural exists!
This segment was shot by the incredibly talented Jonathan Duran for UNC PBS’s Muse. It was his last project before leaving UNC-PBS; he went off to go win an Emmy! Even after having seen it so many times it still almost makes me cry! Thank you so much for how magical this experience was, Jonathan! I hope we get to dance together again one day :) (link)
What do the people who love you say about you? Well, I got to find out in this fantastic article written by a dear friend of mine, Ilina Ewen. To hear such a glowing review of me and my art absolutely touched my soul. Joshua Steadman came and shot in my studio for several hours, and appeased the photography gods with gifts of apple cider and hot chocolate. I think it worked! Thank you so much for your vision on these photos Josh, and for your love and such a beautifully crafted article ilina! (link)
Adopt some art!
I’ve created many new products for you to have and to hold, check them all out on my store site, or click the pictures below to find some things for you to love
Necklaces have arrived! Check them out :D
In 2016 I was commissioned by the African American heritage commission of North Carolina to create illustrations for Michelle Lanier’s “My N.C. from a to Z.” It is a children’s board book where “Each letter of the alphabet introduces an African American person or place who shaped North Carolina’s arts, culture, and social-justice legacy”
In 2018 I was contacted by The National Trust for Historic Preservation for an exciting project. The mission: to raise funds to successfully restore Nina Simone’s childhood home—the place she learned to play piano and grew to love jazz. My role? To create the art that would be the face of the fundraising campaign. The commissioned piece is a 36” x 36” acrylic painting on panel. The image was used as a background the National Trust For Historic Preservation’s booth at Essence Festival, and the same image is being featured on merchandise for the campaign! Supporting the effort are John Legend, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Talib Kweli, Mahershala Ali and Issa Rae.
It is a phenomenal honor for my work to be used in such a way, and for such a noble effort. This campaign opened my eyes to a new understanding of how I can help impact the world with my art. Cheers to the High Priestess of Soul, and a big joyous thank you to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for inviting me to be a part of such an incredible task. Read the article on Billboard magazine website by clicking here, or visit the Indiegogo campaign to see what was available when the campaign was active.
I'm Dare Coulter, and I'm an artist.
For the last few years I have been working very hard to build the type of life that centers around my passion, and that passion is art. When I imagine what I'm doing in my future, I see myself creating murals and monumental sculptures all over the world. My objective is to create works that cut directly to the core of the human experience; which means art that facilitates conversations about healing, feeling, celebration, or all three depending on the piece! Thank you for caring about that mission and the work that I'm creating within it. My main categories of work are:
Sculpture
The Plato to my Aristotle is my mentor and dear friend Holly Fischer. She absolutely changed the course of my life when I began sculpting in her course during my junior year of college. The way that I felt when I created my first piece in clay told me that I had to sculpt for the rest of my life. In my opinion my sculptures are the most important thing that I create. While I'm only a few years into my lifelong sculpting journey, click the button below to see what I've been sculpting since the days in Holly's classroom.
Murals
When I was younger I was really into making big works of art--as an adult, that hasn't changed one bit! Since I realized that I could create work quickly, big pieces that a lot of people can see seemed like a natural next step. I got my first permanent outdoor mural in June of 2017, and I have so much more planned for this year. If you have a wall for me, please reach out in the "walls" section of the How You Can Help page! But, check out more of my murals by clicking the button below.
Paintings and Drawings
I'm an artist, through and through. Paintings and drawings were where things started for me--and truth be told, murals are just huge paintings! I create lots of smaller works, especially since starting with illustrating children's books. At this point I haven't ventured into oils, and my paintings are generally spraypaint and acrylic paint. My favorite drawing medium is a blue ballpoint bic pen; charcoal is a close second.
