Doyle Yeager was born and raised in Mississippi. He enjoyed growing up in a close-knit family and community, but Yeager’s life was turned upside down when his father was struck and killed by lightning while the family was on vacation. Yeager had just turned 18. Unlike most of us, his childhood ended in that moment as he immediately had to look inward and summon the courage within himself that he would need to begin supporting himself, his mother, and younger sister living at home.
Early on in life, Yeager developed a respectful tone to elders, a “do for thy neighbor” attitude toward those less fortunate, and an iron-clad work ethic. His divine gifts and talents have guided his life and career onto many different paths.
In his early twenties, he opened a small craft and floral store. Yeager quickly grew that business into a thriving retail and wholesale floral business with three retail stores, and a regional wholesale florist business serving all of southern MS and southern LA. It was during this time that Yeager taught himself how to design floral arrangements, later becoming an award- winning floral designer.
His success in the florist businesses gave Yeager the confidence to refine another hidden talent as he gradually became an interior designer. Over the last 30 years, he has owned interior design businesses, high-end gift shops, and periodically worked as a freelance designer. In fact, his design work in some of the MS coast’s finest homes has been featured throughout the years in articles in Mississippi Magazine, Coast magazine, Beach Blvd magazine, and South MS Living magazine.s father (from whom he got his first name).
In the early 1990’s, while Yeager was still not even 30, he opened a string of highly successful nightclubs including Gators on the Beach in Gulfport, MS; Rodeo Nights (also in Gulfport); the world-famous Oz nightclub on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA, and Emerald City in Pensacola FL. (Worth noting is that Yeager’s holiday designs at Oz in New Orleans have won the nightclub the prestigious Patio Planters Award for Best Commercial Design numerous times over the years. This award is a very competitive award voted on and given by the Vieux Carre Commission.)
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Yeager discovered his enjoyment of creating new recipes and feeding large crowds, so it seemed natural for him to take on the role of chef when he opened his own restaurant in Pass Christian, MS called DH Finz Bayou Grill.
Yeager’s talent, dedication, and success as a chef earned his restaurant excellent reviews from food critics that were published in the Sea Coast Echo (Bay St. Louis, MS), the Sun Herald (Mississippi Gulf Coast), and South MS Living magazine. His talent as artist was first recognized in a feature article in Beach Blvd magazine.
Yeager discovered his ability to create art from a blank canvas when he felt inclined to do something totally out of character. Even though he had never painted before, he thought he would try to paint a jungle scene on the inside of a new workshop he had just had built in his back yard. Satisfied with his first attempt (and surprised by overwhelming approval of everyone who saw the mural), he continued painting on canvas, sheetrock, plywood, and anything else that was handy.
He began stock piling so many paintings that he quickly opened up A Gallery in Pass Christian, MS in late 2006. His talent as an artist first gained media notoriety with a feature article about Yeager published in the Oct/Nov 2007 issue of Beach Blvd magazine.
Yeager has contributed artwork to fundraising events benefiting local non-profit organizations. The American Heart Association, Toast to the Coast, Zoo to Doo in New Orleans, Gulf Coast Symphony, Coast Episcopal School, and numerous local schools causes are among recipients of Yeager’s philanthropy in the past.
It is now many years since Yeager sat down in his workshop and started painting his first mural on the wall… and there are over a thousand canvases filled with imagery from the depths of Yeager’s mind. In that time span, Yeager has brushed, troweled, and shaped countless characters, scenes, and objects from a color palette of vivid, rich and cheerful hues.
The themes in his artwork seem to change every time he picks up a paintbrush (after taking a short break to balance his other professional obligations.) The subjects of his paintings range from bold toned nudes and fanciful Caribbean characters, to bright and exotic fowl and florals, and to ordinary people. His work characteristically includes undertones of mysticism, voodoo, and Christianity.
In 2006, Yeager painted a series of 6 images which humorously incorporated fanciful chickens into traditional Christmas imagery. Those six paintings were set aside and stored in a closet at his house. Then in 2009, Yeager rediscovered the paintings in his storage closet and had them digitally scanned. The scanned images became the subject matter of Yeager’s Merry Chickmas Christmas card sets that have been sold in gift stores along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in New Orleans since their creation in 2009. However, they are now sold exclusively in Yeager’s storefront, Derek Doyle Designs in Pass Christian, MS.
In 2013, Yeager found himself artistically drawn to a new and exciting subject matter that captured his subconscious and still occupies his imagination today. It was in 2013 that Yeager developed the theme for his newest series of paintings- “Old Queens.” The images in these paintings portray different queens of varied backgrounds, circumstances and personalities. The common thread shared by all of these personalities is that they may be worn out and they may be hagged, but they still manage to pull themselves together and carry on as best they can.
The “Old Queens” are characterized by asymmetrical faces and facial features, weathered by time. Most also have a beauty mark. Their faces are painted with makeup, but application often makeup appears to have been a chore. Finally, the “Old Queens” are adorned in wardrobes as outlandish as their personalities.Yeager characteristically uses vivid and hypnotizing colors and patterns, doused heavily in metallic accents throughout in the creation of the images of the “Old Queens”.
An ongoing theme of Yeager’s since he first started painting is that of his “Old Gals” or “Old Broads” collection. The “Old Gals” appear to be middle-aged, robust women. The common thread among this collection is the absence of facial features. “Old Gals” will only have lips, hair, and sunglasses.
Over the years, women who have bought Yeager’s “Old Gals” paintings have visualized themselves and their friends as characters portrayed in the images. The ambiguity of the facial features allows women of all back-grounds to identify with many images of Yeager’s “Old Gals” themed paintings.
In 2014, Yeager approved a limited number of paintings to be reproduced from the “Old Queens” collection and the “Old Gals” collection. Greeting-sized card sets measure 5 inches wide by 7 inches tall. Each card set is enamored with imagery from the collection.
To create the “Old Gals” collection, Yeager chose three paintings to reproduce onto the deckled cardstock. The inside of the cards is blank. They are packaged in sets of 10 cards and envelopes (there are three copies of two of the paintings, and four copies of a third painting). From the Old Queens” collection, there are three different card sets. Two card sets each include five images of two different Old Queens. A third card set includes ten copies of one image. The title of this image is “Becoming an Old Queen” and the image was created by combining three individual small paintings by Yeager into a single image.
In addition to the card sets, Yeager has authorized a limited number of prints to be reproduced from a selection of “Old Queens” paintings he has reserved. There are currently four “Old Queens” being reproduced as prints, and each painting is being limited to 100 total prints. The prints are hand signed, numbered, and named by Yeager personally. As a finishing touch, Yeager has hand-rubbed metallic highlights onto each print. The original paintings that these prints are reproduced from are acrylic on canvas and measure 24 inches wide by 48 inches tall.
In 2017, Yeager completed six new paintings for a Christmas card set centered around the subject of Yeager’s favorite pastime. The card set is called Merry Fishmas, and (just like Yeager’s Merry Chickmas) each image once again mixes traditional Christmas themes with outlandish humor.
Yeager continues to challenge his skills and grow as an artist with each new painting. His artistic creativity and sense of adventure has led him to incorporating mixed media and dimensional objects into his paintings, creating three dimensional topography. He feels these techniques give his paintings the ability to transcend the confines of traditional artwork.
What direction will Yeager take his art in the coming months and years? Quite honestly, there is no way of predicting what we will see him put onto canvas next!
Click here to see publictions featuring Yeager and his art...