Hello, I’m Dappie.
I create for those who long to feel deeply, to experience love, and to embrace life in all its vibrant colors. Together, we exist like the sun. Unbound, authentic, and unapologetically shining just as we are.
Davey Striper (born 1996)
Working under the name DAPPIE, Davey Striper is a visual artist specializing in painting and mixed media. Largely self-taught, his artistic practice has developed organically from childhood and continues to evolve through exploration and craftsmanship.
His work centers on the presence of the sun and natural light, exploring themes of emotion, warmth, energy, and the contemplative experience of being. Through these elements, Dappie creates visual spaces that invite reflection and emotional connection.
Using predominantly yellow-toned materials. Such as oil paint, acrylic, pastels, and pencils: he employs a modern, intuitive approach. His artworks encourage the viewer to slow down, feel, and simply be for a moment, opening a quiet yet powerful dialogue between light, emotion, and human presence.
Dappie is a Dutch painter who absorbs energy from sunlight to create his work. His vision empowers sunlight and sunflowers. It invites us to feel, be present, and be ourselves to truly be alive. Just like flowers.
''Why is self-acceptance so important, and who am I painting for?''
My work grows the way a sunflower does. Quietly, guided by light rather than pressure. It offers space to breathe, a softer view of life, and a reminder that being alive doesn’t require speed. Art doesn’t need to tell us to slow down. It shows us that time has always been ours. A sunflower lives briefly, yet every moment of its growth is complete. There is no rush in becoming what you already are.
I turn this understanding into images and words. While the world keeps accelerating, my work creates small pauses: moments where things feel clear, grounded, and balanced. I share my art openly and with trust, not to be loud, but to be felt. Like a sunflower, each piece knows why it exists. Art doesn’t explain itself. It communicates in silence.
What we are missing is not action, but stillness. Stillness doesn’t arrive through effort, It appears when we are present. We don’t need to search for presence; we are already inside it, just like the sun is already shining. Our energy comes from something older than thought, older than intention. The sun doesn’t try to be the sun. It simply is. And in that quiet certainty, it reminds us why we are here. A sunflower lives less than a year, a another reminder we should embrace our journey.''
"Yellow burns in my gaze. Light paints me.
The sun draws phosphenes on my skin."
''What is the beginning? What is the most important and original part of it, and what is my life about?
On a random warm summer day in 2025, I was sitting in the garden, feeling uninspired. I already knew that I had started young as a child with my creativity - as an outlet and a curiosity for what did not yet exist; in short, to create. Growing up, I had been “created” in ways I did not choose, which made self-acceptance important. That’s why, in the end, I found myself sitting in the garden, full of emotion but without inspiration.
It was warm. I listened to music and tried to enjoy the day. I knew I had wanted for some time to express my creativity, but my search for who I really was had been lost amid everything in life. Visually, I literally pulled the world around me apart. I sat in that chair and heard the voice in my head: “the sky, the flowers in the garden, the houses, people talking in the distance, and THE SUN.”
I closed my eyes and reflected. What is the most important and original part of this, and what is my life about? At that moment, a light went on. Well, I could see the inside of my eyelids as I looked toward the sun. It sparkled, it was warm, and it created visible golden-yellow patterns in my vision. My whole life, I had struggled to find the right energy for existence, but in that moment, I absorbed the vitamin D, and I felt both visually and creatively drawn to the sun.
From that moment on, I see myself sitting in that garden, feeling the warmth and noticing the patterns: the “phosphenes.”
Dappie’s Art.
Each painting and artwork is handmade. His creations embody a unique vision but also a deep connection to light, the sun, and the essence of human experience in his world. Through raw emotion, loving colors, reversible energy, his work invites the viewer to feel, be present, and reconnect with their own inner self. It’s a powerful reminder of art’s ability to ignite vitality and reveal the intricate balance between strength and human vulnerability.
The Meaning of (My) Art and of Phosphenes
In my work, I paint the sun, light, emotions, warmth, emerging energy, and the feeling of recharging. I also capture what I see when I close my eyes and look toward the sun. Observing them is fascinating, but be careful: studying them is at your own risk, as it can be harmful to your eyes. The patterns that appear are called phosphenes, like you see on this page it's background.
Phosphenes are light or color effects that you perceive without actual light entering your eyes. They occur when your eyes or brain are stimulated in a way that activates the visual cortex, even though light does not reach the retina. They can appear as flashes of light, spots, or geometric patterns. Phosphenes can arise spontaneously, through pressure on the eyes, electrical stimulation, or neural activity in the brain.
When you rub or press your eyes, the photoreceptors in your retina - rods, cones, and other structures - bend and generate an electrical response. This works similarly to how they react to light, for example when you look at the sun and then close your eyes. With the light comes through and you keep watching: this is how phosphenes are created.
If you try to interact with these patterns, visions, or other mental images, your mind becomes more active and less clear. It can get caught in its own creations, as if they truly exist, similar to a daydream, a non-lucid dream, or simply getting lost in thought.
Source of information: Wikipedia, “Phosphenes”
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