Skewed North by Jolene Dames | Substack

Start Here: The Story That Changed Everything

For 25 years, I painted illusions for film. Then life broke the script. This is the story of what came after.

Sep 9, 2024 • Jolene Dames

How I Accidentally Built a 25-Year Career in Film

No training. No roadmap. Just one yes that turned into a 25-year career in movies.

Sep 9, 2024 • Jolene Dames

We Quit the Script and Started Living Our Own Life

One question changed everything. We quit the script and built a life that actually felt like ours.

Sep 9, 0002 • Jolene Dames

Five Months Later, He Was Gone

There is no roadmap for this. This is what it feels like when everything you built disappears.

Sep 9, 2025 • Jolene Dames

I Don’t Follow Maps. I Make Them.

The biggest moments of my life didn’t come from plans. They came from something else—and I followed it.

Mar 18 • Jolene Dames

Movies & Television Work

Tom Hanks Sang to Me on My Birthday

This started as a once-in-a-lifetime moment on a film set. It ended with a letter I’ll never forget—and a reminder of what it means to be human.

Mar 2 • Jolene Dames

What the Work Was Sitting Inside Of

On film schedules, grief, vertigo, and the unseen conditions that shape a painting

Jan 8 • Jolene Dames

🎬 Behind the Scenes: What I've Been Up To Lately

Skewed North has been quiet—but my paint-splattered life has been anything but.

Jun 16, 2025 • Jolene Dames

Skewed North by Jolene Dames

Skewed North by Jolene Dames

Behind the scenes of a life driven by inspiration—25 years painting for movies, chasing detours across the globe, and learning how to navigate when the map disappears. Hop in the sidecar. We ride at dawn.

I don’t follow maps—I make them. Subscribe if you want to see where this road goes.

Field Notes & Dispatches from the Road

A Small Course Correction

You thought I disappeared...

Mar 16 • Jolene Dames

Tom Hanks Sang to Me on My Birthday

This started as a once-in-a-lifetime moment on a film set. It ended with a letter I’ll never forget—and a reminder of what it means to be human.

Mar 2 • Jolene Dames

The Best Photographs I Never Took

I missed the whale. I didn’t turn around for the rams. Those became the most important images I’ve ever “taken.”

Feb 21 • Jolene Dames

The Night I Knew (And Didn’t Know Why)

A personal story about love, intuition, and the idea of signs and synchronicity. Exploring fate, energy, and how we find direction when logic isn’t…

Feb 14 • Jolene Dames

Travel Isn’t Escape. It’s Orientation.

I didn’t travel to escape. I traveled to figure out where I was. Turns out, the places we return to matter more than the ones we chase.

Feb 6 • Jolene Dames

The Atlas Subscriber Access

Rooted, Restless

I’ve spent my life moving. Now I’m being asked to stay. This is what happens when you’re rooted—and still restless.

Jan 22 • Jolene Dames

Circling Back to Nomadic Novelties

(An update, nine months later) For paid subscribers only.

Dec 4, 2025 • Jolene Dames

The French Castle Photo Montage

Sep 17, 2025 • Jolene Dames

Greece Photo Montage

For Paid Subscribers Only

Sep 10, 2025 • Jolene Dames

What Happens When You Stop Moving

I don’t avoid emotional storms. I navigate them. This is the difference between being lost—and being alive.

Mar 18 • Jolene Dames

Skewed North by Jolene Dames

Behind the scenes of a life driven by inspiration—25 years painting for movies, chasing detours across the globe, and learning how to navigate when the map disappears. Hop in the sidecar. We ride at dawn.

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