DuBoise is a self-taught artist with an upbringing in N. Portland, OR. She was inspired to draw like her father – treasuring their short time together when he would visit during her childhood. This created intimate moments of sharing their sketches together. Her mother saw this desire and talent early on and made a point of putting her in after-school programs that tended to her creativity. After graduating from high school she attended Oregon State University on a full-ride scholarship studying engineering. Vastly different from an art practice, she put her pencil and pad away to focus on studies.
Even though it would seem Sade was on her way to a great life of success, she was truly lost. Sade had periods of her life inflicted with homelessness, domestic abuse, sexual trauma, and depression. However, that wasn’t the end of her story – but the start of a new creative journey.
Currently DuBoise focuses on portraiture and landscape with an affinity for capturing black women in all their glory, beauty, and vulnerability. Eyes are truly windows to the soul and are why she pays special attention to them. When you first look at a DuBoise painting, their gaze will generally be the first thing you meet. Bold color, lush dramatic backgrounds, and all shades of melanin under the sun – deepest purples and charcoal browns to tan olives and eggshell whites, are present. We are here, we are beautiful, and we have a story to tell.