Today we’d like to introduce you to Odessa Doolittle.
Hi Odessa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been arting around ever since I was old enough to grasp a pencil. I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh but pursued a major in film. In fact, I have never taken a single formal art lesson. As a self-taught artist, I have devoted the majority of the last thirty years to studying and improving my craft.
I spent the last decade in suburban southwest Missouri, where I struggled to make it as an artist. For me, the opportunities were limited and my style of art made it difficult to navigate the Joplin art scene, though I was able to scratch out a meager living doing caricatures at festivals.
After meeting my girlfriend/business partner/Goddess Divine, Julie DeLana, while doing community theater, we started expanding the business from simply doing caricatures to exhibiting and selling my art professionally. Under the name ODDArt and Caricatures, we’ve expanded into a full art business offering a variety of services, including murals, caricatures at private events, and publishing comic books and graphic novels.
I love my girlfriend.
It wasn’t until we moved to Kansas City in July of 2025 that things started really picking up at an unprecedented pace! We continue to do festivals, where I draw caricatures and we sell my art, as well as drawing caricatures at private events.
My artwork is currently hanging in four art galleries, with more on the horizon. You can find some of my pictures and paintings currently showing at Smalter Gallery, on 39th Street, for their Halloween exhibit; 80 Santa Fe, in Overland Park, for their Urban Rhythms show; Worlds of Fun for their Halloween Haunt exhibit, and Monarca Art Space for their Dia de los Muertos show.
In addition, I’ve been working on a graphic novel for the last five years, and we’ve successfully funded the printing through Kickstarter. “Diary of a White Rabbit” will be self-published and debut at Planet Comicon Kansas City in March. This graphic novel has been drawn and written 100% by hand, and I’ve been hauling around 110 pages that tell my life’s story…filtered through an anthropomorphic white rabbit cartoon character. I respect and love digital art, but I don’t really love DOING digital art. That’s why every single thing you see in my book, as well as the rest of my art, was drawn completely by hand. I absolutely love working with my hands. And I have a philosophical loathing of AI generated slop. I saw a quote the other day that said, “AI made me believe in a human soul by showing me what art looks like without it.” Basically I guess if any of my art contains my soul, it is Diary of a White Rabbit: A Millennial Odyssey.
In addition, Julie and I have several additional comic books in the works that we will be completing and publishing in the near future.
One of my biggest goals for the future is to do a mural in Kansas City. I love public street art and I would love to contribute to the vibrant street art scene here in KC. I painted indoor and outdoor murals in Joplin and I’m ready to get into the groove again.
I love art.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenges I experience are the same as those faced by any artist who is not economically privileged. During the Renaissance, art was only accessible to privileged households, and things have only mildly improved since then. It’s a cliche that starving artists only become famous after they die, but it’s a cliche for a reason. I am not challenged by creative deficits or lack of inspiration, I am only hindered by my limited access to income and resources. My girlfriend is a public school teacher, which is a field equally undervalued by society, despite society’s heavy reliance and desire for both education and arts. Julie and I spend most of our “free” time together working on submitting art to galleries, writing, and planning future projects. Our main obstacle is simply getting our business off the ground so we can both dedicate ourselves to this work full time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an artist who draws, sketches, and paints full time. I also do caricatures, murals, and write and illustrate my own comic books, which will be coming out VERY soon! (See my Kickstarter link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diaryofawhiterabbit/diary-of-a-white-rabbit for a ton more information on my first graphic novel.)
Together, Julie and I are working on a new comic book with a working title of Lady Badberry. She is writing and I’m illustrating this one. We also have several other ideas for comics and graphic novels that we’ll be beginning soon.
Everywhere I go, I carry a mixed media sketchbook in my bag. When I sit at a restaurant, I draw and watercolor one of the employees and gift them their doodle along with their tip.
How do you think about luck?
I believe luck is a factor in success, to some small degree, but mostly I feel like it’s a matter of confidence, intuition, talent, but most of all, taking every opportunity that presents itself.
One of the things we have discovered is that every ‘yes’ leads to another opportunity. Speaking with fellow artists at galleries and art shows leads us to a new gallery or art exhibit. Participating in community theater introduces us to people who invite us to be extras in a local movie production, which leads us into meeting with local filmmakers and being invited to work on screenwriting. Saying ‘yes’ to doing a free caricature at a restaurant led us into doing caricatures at an entire event, and helped us to network with more affluent people in the KC real estate market. Every single time we participate in an event, talk with people, or step outside our comfort zone a bit, opportunities open up and new pathways appear.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://odessadoolittle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agentodd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgentODD and https://www.facebook.com/oddcaricatures
- Other: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diaryofawhiterabbit/diary-of-a-white-rabbit
