Do what you love!

Hi, I am Justin, the paint brush behind Just Dahl. I am proud to call myself a Pensacola artist. I think I always knew deep inside from a young age that I would be an artist or a musician. I ended up choosing art and I listen to music in the background when I paint. I started painting the beach and all the wonders of the water and that is the theme for all my paintings.

At 5 my parents took me, my 2 brothers and 1 sister to Sarasota, Lido Beach for winter break, and that's when I fell in love with the beach. So that and summer was what I looked forward to each year.

I grew up in a sweet little town just out of Chicago, called Hinsdale, where I spent my summers outside playing with the other kids and going to the swimming pool every chance I got. I spent a lot of my indoor hours drawing anything and everything. I poked a lot of holes in my walls with pushpins to hang all my art. One constant was the city of Chicago and the fantastic culture it showed me. I spent many a weekend at the Chicago Art Institute, Science and Industry and Field museum, Brookfield Zoo and people watching at Buckingham Fountain. I enjoyed music in the park and the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Biography Theater. Due to complicated circumstances, I was on my own by age 15. Living on my own was scary and sometimes really hard. Luckily I had a big sister and a grandmother to help me if I fell hard.

I started painting Palm Frond Masks when my husband and daughter and I moved to New Port Richey, Florida. I spent a lot of time with my dad who moved there many years before us. He was a so so fisherman, and a great artist and I learned so much from him. He was my hero and if you have ever met me at a show, you have probably heard a story about him. I am now living in Pensacola, and I found my passion for canvas painting. I am known for my tiny 2.5" x 3.5" detailed canvas paintings on tiny little easels, and I enjoy when people get wide eyed and come check them out at shows. I also love when people see the larger art and they get drawn in. If you have ever met me at a show, you know I love to tell stories and encourage young artists. I love meeting new people, so if you get to a show, make sure you stop by and say hello.