Artist Bio

Justin F. Copeland is a digital illustrator, character designer, and writer originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in Richmond, Virginia. He began creating art seriously in 2016, working primarily in digital mediums and focusing on African spirituality, celestial elements, and divine archetypes.

From an early age, art revealed itself as his natural language. As a child, drawing became a refuge—a place of safety, imagination, and self-expression when the world felt confusing or unwelcoming. While he explored music during his teenage years, he eventually returned to visual art during a deeply transformative period in adulthood, using creativity as a way to reconnect with himself and his spiritual understanding of the world.

Justin’s work is heavily influenced by Black identity, ancestral wisdom, and a personal relationship with Spirit rooted in love, freedom, and remembrance rather than fear or control. His art is created with intention—each piece carrying energy meant to affirm, uplift, and reflect the inner power of the viewer. He creates for the dreamers, the healers, and the creatives who often walk alone, offering his work as both a mirror and a message: you are seen, valued, and powerful.

Currently, Justin is focused on long-form storytelling through comics, writing and illustrating original works scheduled for release in spring 2026. While continuing to develop the visual style he is known for, his ultimate goal is to tell stories that transform pain into purpose and help others reconnect with their creative and spiritual truth.

Artist Statement

I create art as an act of remembrance.

My work explores spirituality, identity, and inner freedom—especially the experience of those who feel misunderstood, counted out, or forced to walk alone. Growing up deeply sensitive and creatively inclined, I often felt disconnected from the world around me. Art became a place where I could build what reality seemed to lack: love, color, meaning, and understanding.

Spirituality is central to my practice. My relationship with Spirit is rooted in compassion rather than control, and my work reflects that belief. Drawing from African spirituality, celestial symbolism, and divine archetypes, I use characters and imagined worlds to express truths about the human experience—our longing for belonging, our struggle with imposed systems, and our innate power to choose who we become.

World-building and storytelling are essential to my process. Through imagined realms and symbolic figures, I translate personal pain into shared language, offering viewers a place to feel safe, affirmed, and inspired. My characters often embody resilience, healing, and self-knowledge, serving as reflections of the inner strength we all carry.

I want viewers to feel seen when they encounter my work—to feel reminded that creativity is sacred, sensitivity is powerful, and dreaming is not weakness but resistance. In a world that often dismisses artists and creatives, my work challenges the idea that art is unimportant. Art and story are what endure. They connect us, heal us, and carry truth across generations.

My practice continues to evolve toward deeper storytelling. As I move further into comics and narrative work, my intention remains the same: to create art that helps people remember who they are, reclaim their power, and choose love, understanding, and Spirit in a world that often pushes the opposite.