A native Floridian now based in the Bay Area, Daniel Rivera Stahlschmidt grew up with a love of nature and reading. He is a mixed media artist who specializes in watercolor, graphite, and ink mediums. Daniel’s work explores a variety of topics, from visualizing classic literature, to exploring his own created worlds. 

Graduated from the University of Hartford with a BFA in Illustration and Animation, his goal is to create narrative driven art that focuses on fantasy and natural themes. His interest in different mediums displays a unique adaptability, and skill in many different mediums. Daniel works on the thin line of chaos and perfection, often beginning pieces with a clear sketch, before allowing the watercolor paint to do what it does best. Now left with bases of unique color patterns and textures, he tightens and refines the chaos into unique and clear illustrations.

As an early career artist, Daniel has contributed to a number of zines and publications such as The Ophelia Gazette, the Trans Survivors Zine, and Fruit Slice Magazine. He has also won awards for competitions such as the DotsxCircles Illustration Competition, Teravarna, and Writers of the future. He hopes to see books he illustrated on shelves around the world!