Courtney Boatwright

Artist Statement

My creative roots were planted in the delightful chaos of latchkey life—eldest sibling, ringleader of weirdos, and spiritual cousin to the Addams Family. Growing up in the Bay Area, I was the kid left to my own devices while my parents worked and my siblings summoned madness. Our family bond was so intense, the neighbors didn’t know whether to call it heartwarming or haunted.

Being the oldest gave me a strange sort of freedom. I escaped into gothic fantasies and spun twisted tales from the shadows of real life. Out of that blur of responsibility and imagination, The Oneirics were born—a surreal, evolving universe stitched together from my illustrations, sculptures, poems, and stories. It’s my way of making sense of life’s beautiful weirdness.

The Oneirics aren’t just characters—they’re living fragments of human emotion, embodied in two volatile children who are as haunting as they are heartbreakingly familiar. For over a decade, I’ve nurtured them, watching their stories unfold in ways that are whimsical, unsettling, and deeply personal. Some of them may crawl under your skin. That’s intentional. These tales are meant to linger, to whisper long after the page is turned.

My process is chaotic magic. It begins with raw sketches, scribbled in the margins of life. Then comes inking, digital refinement, and somewhere in the middle—uninvited but always welcome—come the poems and twisted stories that bring everything to life. Eventually, the characters step off the page as sculptures—three-dimensional beings that demand presence and provoke emotion.

As a lifelong collector of designer toys and an aspiring creator in that world, I’m constantly inspired by the energy, joy, and storytelling power of 3D art. My studio is filled with strange little creatures—silent witnesses to my process. And soon, those stories will go even further: The Oneirics is becoming a full-fledged series of books. It’s the next chapter in a long, haunted conversation between art and story—and it’s only just beginning.

I hope fellow collectors and story-lovers alike feel that same spark of twisted joy when they meet my work—the kind that sticks with you, whether you want it to or not.