The Romance of the West

Dakota Pitts is on a self-guided journey that began 11 years ago, when he was 23 and took a life drawing class at City College in Long Beach, California. That journey has taken him around the world and has landed his paintings in some impressive art shows and galleries.

Pitts’ love of the outdoors traces back to his childhood. Growing up in Long Beach, he spent most of his time drawing, surfing, and skateboarding. “I just wanted to be outside,” he says, adding that he still does.

Following his high school graduation, Pitts moved up the coast to Santa Barbara, where he continued to surf, began to hike, worked at a restaurant, and enrolled at City College. “One semester, I took life drawing and started drawing a lot,” he says. “I attended all the life drawing classes they offered, even if I wasn’t enrolled in those classes.” He had found his calling: art.

Read the full article in the November/December 2024 issue.