Fine ART 
+ Goods
Black and white line drawing of a woman wearing a large hat and striped shirt, with a cactus in the background, surrounded by a dotted oval border.

Mojave Desert

BRANDING
+ DESIGN

Art Direction & Strategy

Black and white photo of a woman wearing a large cowboy hat, leather jacket, and a dark top. She is standing in front of a brick wall with graffiti.
Black and white photo showing a person sitting outdoors, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and dark jeans. They have a tattoo on their left forearm and are holding a piece of paper with a hand-drawn illustration of a woman wearing sunglasses and a striped top.
Signature of Nakia Matthewson in black ink on white background
Wood-paneled living room with large windows showing greenery outside, modern beige lounge chair, and abstract wall art of a person with long hair and a hat.
Silhouette of a person wearing a hat with a sunset in the background.
Stylized illustration of a person with long dreadlocks, sitting with crossed legs, wearing a hoodie, against an orange and black background, signature at the bottom right.
Illustration of a person wearing a cowboy hat, brown coat, and a striped shirt with a scarf, with long dark hair, and signature at the bottom right corner.
Digital illustration of a woman wearing a cowboy hat, long wavy hair, a necklace, and a maroon jacket, standing against an orange and blue dotted background, with a signature at the bottom right corner.
Decorative wall art of a woman with a hat, holding a drink, surrounded by plants on a wooden table with a white bed and window in the background.
A wooden console table with a vintage crate underneath, a small Marshall speaker, a vintage camera, and a table lamp with a warm orange glow. Two black-framed line art portraits hang on the white wall above the table.
Line art illustration of a person wearing a wide-brimmed hat, with glasses and a mustache, holding a pipe.
A wooden cabinet with black slats, a stack of vinyl records on top, a record player, a potted plant, and framed artwork on the white wall behind it.
Interior of a room with wooden floors, featuring two black and white line art portraits of a person with a hat and long hair, framed and hanging on a light wall. There is a white table lamp on a wooden cabinet, and a portion of a woven chair is visible in the foreground.
Desert landscape with rocky hills, Joshua trees, and a winding road in black and white.

  • Artist & Designer.

    Nakia Matthewson is a multidisciplinary artist & designer based in Joshua Tree, California.

    Her work explores the modern West through iconic desert figures, repeated forms, and architectural framing. Drawing inspiration from high-desert culture, anonymity, and ritual, her pieces sit between abstraction and portraiture—grounded, restrained and quietly powerful.

    Working in both minimal black-and-white and layered color, Nakia often revisits works, allowing each piece to explore a distinct colorway, texture, and emotional register. The recurring arch motif acts as both structure and threshold—a visual language that speaks to place, passage and presence.

    Australian-born, shaped by 8 years of living in London and now 10 years in the United States, Nakia now calls the Mojave Desert her home. With over 21 years of experience as a creative director, art director and designer, her fine art practice reflects a disciplined eye, editorial clarity, and deep respect for form.

    She currently lives and works in Joshua Tree, California.