Meet Umami Bee

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Umami Bee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Umami below.

Hi Umami, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I quite literally went out on foot and found my purpose. I’ve always been a creative—always been a creator—but it wasn’t until I shut out the rest of the world and its distractions that I would realize I was destined to be an artist.

This all came from a six-month tech cleanse I did during the pandemic. I knew early on that we were in it for the long haul—don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. During that time, I didn’t use any technology. No TV. No phone service. I rarely texted, didn’t use social media. If I wanted to listen to music, I had to download it onto a janky little device. I quite literally went back to a time before the internet. I actually don’t even recall the first leg of the pandemic the way most humans do.

I would walk down to the river—I called it the beach—with my Dollar Tree canvas and my Dollar Tree watercolors, and I’d scoop up water from the river to paint. It became such a spiritual process. The paintings were terrible, but the meaning was so deep. I knew it was my calling. People probably thought I was crazy at the time, but it was such a beautiful process of discovering what I was meant for. With the art, it was like God would speak back to me, and I’d never experienced that before. Once I did, I could never go back.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a self-taught artist who specializes in painting the Black experience. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with blending the human figure and elements of nature. I think that blend reflects where my art began—me sitting in nature, realizing how connected we all really are. I paint the Black experience because I feel like sometimes the ancestors speak through me, and I believe our representation through art is so important to see as we move through generations. You’ll notice I like to paint Afros in my subjects, because to me it symbolizes true freedom.

I also have quite the sense of humor, and I love when reality bends. Creating worlds where the laws of physics feel distorted—where the ordinary meets the surreal—feels powerful to me. It’s a reminder of how limitless our minds really are. I’m always finding new ways to weave that playful, curious energy into my art, to let more of me show up in my work. As a musician as well, I’m constantly learning and expanding creatively. Sometimes my art and music themes intertwine.

Right now, I’m working on a collection of work called The Element Series, which continues exploring the relationship between the human experience and nature. I hope to debut the work in a galley show here in Los Angeles in 2026.

I’m also working on getting prints available for sale in my Etsy shop (Umami Bee), and I’m always on the lookout for my next mural project.
I’ll also say that, fashion has been a lifelong love of mine too, so I see myself eventually moving into clothing design. You’ll notice in my current work that there’s already a wardrobe component that feels like an extension of the art itself—and that’s something I’m really excited to develop further.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The number one thing you need is passion. Like I said, my first paintings were terrible—but the meaning behind them drove me so hard. It was instinctive, like an inner knowing. That spark is the beginning of the relationship between you and your purpose. If you have that and, for some reason, decide to let it go, you’re already off course. You have to follow that passion. Operate in the gifts that have been given to you.

The next thing is discipline. Oh my God, discipline is the hardest thing to fully grasp because it has nothing to do with motivation. What discipline helps you do is form habits—and that’s what you want. If you want this to become your job, take 15 minutes a day, whatever you can manage, and stick to it. That discipline turns into habit, which turns into consistency, which naturally leads to growth—whether you want it or not. That’s where you want to be: in a place where the work becomes second nature.

I always say one of the things I forget most in life is that I’m a painter. I’ll go about my day and suddenly think, “Oh yeah, I’m a painter.” It’s become such a part of me that it doesn’t even feel like something I do for attention—it’s just who I am.

And finally, Be a back-end person. So many people focus only on the front-facing parts of their craft—social media, getting seen, getting likes. But that can become a shortcut that actually stunts your growth if you rely on it too much for validation. During my six-month tech cleanse, my motto became creation without validation and it’s totally saved me during the era of social media and technology. As a human, you have to learn how to validate yourself—to decide that something is good or great because you say so, not because someone else approves.

If you post only what you think people like, you risk becoming what I call a trope of yourself—only doing the one thing that worked instead of exploring new directions and evolving, which is what being an artist (and a human) is all about.

When I say be a back-end person, I mean look for opportunities to showcase your art in the physical world—apply for things, seek out community-based spaces, residencies, or galleries. Those real-world experiences often hold deeper, more meaningful validation because you’re connecting with people who truly understand your skill set and your vision in a way that the internet simply can’t sometimes.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Take it out of your head. I cannot stress that enough, and I mean that.

That could mean literally writing down what’s overwhelming you, or speaking it out loud. Sometimes I record myself talking. When you’re recording, it feels like someone else is listening — like there’s an audience — so you start explaining things in a way that someone else would understand, which actually helps you understand. Saying what you feel out loud can help you talk yourself through the issue, or at least get you closer to clarity. And of course, you can do this with a licensed professional too.

Another way to take it out of your head is creatively. Capture the feeling of overwhelm in a painting, a song, a poem — whatever your outlet is. It’s a release. All emotions — anger, fear, happiness, joy — can be translated into something creative.

And when you put things on paper, even if it’s just a list of what’s overwhelming you, it becomes something you can address later. It exists outside of you now. You’ve acknowledged it. You can move on, do something else, and come back to it when you’re ready to face it. Just remember that when you lead with love the outcome is always more gratifying.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.interstellarcreative.space/umamibee
• Instagram: @UMAMIBEE
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@umamibeetv