Plantation – Artist Dixie Lee Hedrington-Miller knows the importance of illustration in storytelling – and of telling a story through works of art.
In her new book of artwork, A Journey Into My World of Art, Miller takes readers to the Caribbean to her native island of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Each painting tells a unique story from her childhood and adult life as well as what it was like to grow up in paradise.
“From an early age, I knew I liked art,” says Miller. “I would sketch on paper, the inside cover of my schoolbook, my Bible and even wood. Walking along the beaches was a delight – the exquisite colors of the waters changing before my eyes forced me to see color that I’d never noticed before. Looking at life, sometimes through a child’s eye, I was able to see beyond the present and looked into my imaginary world of art.”
Many of Miller’s works are painted with a palette knife. Each painting in A Journey Into My World of Art tells a personal story to Miller and represents a significant moment in her life. “Miller’s Place,” a tribute to her late husband, symbolizes their life together, while “The Lagoon” embodies the joy she took on the beach as a child.
“I don’t just paint because I can,” she says. “Each painting has significance to me – and, I hope, to anyone who views my work.”
About the author
Dixie Lee Hedrington-Miller has been a professional artist for over 20 years. Her first painting on canvas, “Island Woman,” is the first work featured in her book and serves as homage to her Caribbean background. An after-school art teacher, she currently resides in Plantation, Fla.
