Emerson Macauley is an artist and poet from Dallas, Texas.

It started at 5 with coloring books and tracing Michael Jackson cutouts — no toys, so he made his own. Drawing became his thing, then life got busy and art took a back seat through high school.

A spiritual awakening changed that. One last-minute Painting 101 class later, everything clicked. He started painting on clothes, then moved to canvas, picking up graphic design and poetry along the way.

His work is raw, purposeful, and energetic — influenced by Basquiat, George Condo, Picasso, and Romare Bearden. It's not always pretty on the surface, but there's something in it for people who look closer.