Dean Mitchell (born 1957) is an American figurative artist who works primarily in watercolor and oil paint. His subjects, derived largely from African American culture, have been cited for their emotional depth, avoidance of facile sentimentality, and accomplished sense of formal design. Mitchell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957, and raised in Quincy, Florida. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1980, Mitchell moved to Kansas City, Missouri and started working as an illustrator at Hallmark Cards. He remained at Hallmark for the next three years and began entering national and international art competitions. When Hallmark terminated his employment in 1983, he decided to pursue painting as a full-time career. Mitchell's artwork has been the subject of numerous articles, and is represented in museum and corporate collections, including the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Saint Louis Art Museum. His life is the subject of an illustrated book for children, Against All Odds: Artist Dean Mitchell's Story. Mitchell has also illustrated US postage stamps, such as the 1995 Louis Armstrong stamp in the Jazz Musician series. Exhibitions References External links Biography, Dean L. Mitchell A Black World Of Ins and Outs, Michael Kimmelman. The New York Times, April 26, 2002 Former KC artist Dean Mitchell finds a warmer welcome in Florida, Kansas City.com Dean Mitchell's soul-satisfying art exhibit now at Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tampa Bay.com Delray Beach exhibit shows works of watercolorist Dean Mitchell, Sun Sentinel.com Everything's a Portrait: Watercolors of Dean Mitchell, Broward Palm Beach New Times Florida artist puts emotion on canvas, Tampa Tribune Biography, Florida Black History Month, 2010 Biography, Charlotte Street Foundation Biography, Autry National Center Dean Mitchell Artist Biography Against All Odds: Artist Dean Mitchell's Story The Art of Dean Mitchell Dean Mitchell on the African American Visual Artists Database Dean Mitchell at the Canton Museum of Art (2010 profile produced by Western Reserve Public Media) Dean Mitchell's American West (Video overview produced by Gadsden Arts Center and Museum) 1957 births Living people Artists from Pittsburgh 21st-century American painters 20th-century American painters American watercolorists American male painters Columbus College of Art and Design alumni People from Quincy, Florida American stamp designers 20th-century African-American painters 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century American male artists