Who Is Honey's Girl?

Shayla M. Dobson, known as Honey’s Girl, is a self-taught artist hailing from Miami, FL. As a kid, Shayla always had a knack for art, spending hours filling in coloring books and thriving in her art class. But it was in middle school when she discovered her love and talent for painting. Shayla took advanced math during this time. And in her 7th grade Algebra I Honors class, they were tasked with making “creations.” These creations were geometric designs with intentional artistic flair. During this time, our artist explored a multitude of geometric art including tessellations, line designs, perspective, and so on. At the end of that school year, the teacher assigned certain creations to be painted as murals around the school and classroom. By the end of the following school year, Shayla had painted several murals around the school. Over the next few years, she continued to practice her painting skills through creating murals at home, school, and around her neighborhood.

In the fall of 2009, Honey’s Girl moved to Washington, DC to pursue a degree in Architecture from the illustrious Howard University. During her matriculation she encountered many obstacles and in her final year of architecture, she changed her major to Art History. The curriculum in this new major created a shift that awakened the sleeping artist within. Over her final 2 years, she took an array of visual art classes where Shayla was encouraged to explore new mediums. Through these new mediums, she was able to tap into a new level of self expression. 

Towards the end of her collegiate career, Shayla started to suffer from mental health issues. As a way to cope she started a sketch book of strictly, rendered images. Within a year, Shayla decided to pick up her paint brushes again but this time, put them to canvas. At the end of 2015 she began painting on canvas regularly in her free time. She’d accepted that she was an artist. Even when she was in middle school, she had a specific aesthetic and had developed it over time. Shayla is so focused on continuously improve and grow, refining her aesthetic, and technique, that she often revisits specific imagery.  Shayla even incorporated other parts of her life, creating a series of portraits of students that attended the school where she was currently working. As another part of that effort, she got a part time job working at a paint and sip, to get more exposure to art and other artists.

Several years later, we have Honey’s Girl slowly making waves in DC. She has presented and sold paintings at several shows and events. Honey’s Girl, the brand was named after her grandmother, whose nickname was Honey. Being known as one of her closest grandchildren and later known for her artistry, Honey’s Girl just made sense to Shayla. Currently, she is mostly active on Instagram, @HoneysGirlArt, where she gives regular updates on different art projects. Honey’s Girl is also selling all of her art through an official shop on her website.