Deatra Colbert

Deatra Colbert (b. 1964) has a practice that spans painting, drawing, print, sculpture, and fiber media. Many scenes feature famed WWE wrestlers, characters from film and TV dramas, and detailed landscapes full of flowers and friends. Colbert’s designs share a common root: round forms equally bud petals or ears or fingers; stripes sprout from heads to form hair, and elsewhere radiate out as fireworks bursting in the air. This calligraphic line work also curls into her signature embellished handwriting, with which she describes the image in names, numbers, and dates. Colbert has a deep relationship with NIAD Art Center, having joined the roster in 1994. She shares, “I’ve been at NIAD for 30 years and I’m going down in NIAD history. I am a NIAD legend!” 

Colbert has participated in group exhibitions at Et al. Gallery, the Oakland Museum of California, Kala Art Institute, Bedford Gallery, Rock Paper Scissors Collective, and Richmond Art Center. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Ohana Center in Monterey, California. 

I’ve been at NIAD for about 30 years and I want to go down in NIAD history. NIAD is a nice quiet place to work at and you can choose your materials and teachers. You can focus on your art. Andres Cisneros-Galindo is like a father at NIAD. Andres is a cool teacher who asks me to do prints in his class. Me and him know about history at NIAD. 

I think I am a painter and a drawer. I love all materials but pencils and crayons are my favorites. I love putting flowers and suns in the background of my drawings.

Wrestling and Seth Rollins are a big influence for me. In wrestling you can see about their clothes and their style which I like. I like all kinds of jewelry too. I love how you can make it, wear it on your wrist or your neck. I just love jewelry. I used to make hanging pieces in fiber arts way back at NIAD, years ago. 

I love printmaking because you can do all different kinds of colors and it’s fun to work with different teachers. I love getting my hands dirty in clay and doing my wrestling sculptures. When you have your break you can go outside and sit in the garden at NIAD.