Dean L. Mitchell was born 1957, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and reared in Quincy, Florida. He is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. Mitchell is well known for his figurative works, landscapes and still lifes. In addition to watercolours, he is accomplished in other media, including egg tempera, oil and pastel.

Mitchell has been featured in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, American Artist, Artist Magazine, Fine Art International and Art News.

His art can be found in corporate and museum collections across the country, including: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi; Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, Kansas; The Autry National Center, Los Angeles; The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas; Gadsden Art Center Quincy, Florida; Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio and the Library of Congress.

He has received the American Watercolours Society Gold Medal, Allied Artist of American Gold Medal in Watercolour and Oil, Thomas Moran Award from the Salmagundi Club in New York, Remington Professional League, and for three years in a row the Best in Show Award from the Mississippi Watercolours Society Grand National Competition. In 2004 and 2007, he received the Autry National Center Award for Watercolours at the Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and sale. Mitchell is a member of several professional societies, including the American Watercolour Society and the National Watercolour Society.