Layered Stories in Paint, Print, and Time
Will von Dehl’s career as a graphic designer and illustrator required adaptability . Years of designing for print deepened his appreciation for the precision nature of the process, but while striving for perfection on press, comic books embody this ephemera for him, with their mass-printed, pulpy pages capturing bright yet faded colors, bold heroes, and eccentric narratives; their flaws are part of their charm. He collects vintage advertising, forgotten and discarded family photos and antique hand tools, treasuring the patina of timeworn objects.
While he occasionally paints on canvas, he constructs his own birch and poplar panels for more visceral works, allowing him to build up layers of paint and carve into them with steel tools. Scraping, sanding, and repainting, he creates textures that mirror the passage of time layers of moments, traditions, changes, and imperfections, all interwoven to reflect a vibrant expression of humanity.





