Nakisha VanderHoeven (bluedogrose)

Nakisha is a Seattle artist who has been making animal art since her earliest memory.

Born in California and growing up on a tree farm in rural New York State, her childhood was filled with art and animals. “Dog” was her first word and her teen years were spent riding her beloved horse, Fox. Her creative parents encouraged her first two passions, art and nature, which she continues to focus on today.

She attended college in New York's Finger Lakes region on a full scholarship, learning computer animation, sculpture techniques, painting, and writing. She earned a degree in Sculpture. After graduation she worked for a glass blower while creating graphic novels and elaborate ink drawings.

In 1993 she moved to Seattle where she learned web design and worked as the webmaster and artist liaison for a woodworking cooperative. Today she shows her sculptures and paintings at regional galleries, sells her artwork to clients around the world, and lives with an assortment of adopted animals.