For me, wanting to be an artist was easy—but becoming one was not. I recall that the week before graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Visual Communications, my father presented me with a list of alternative career options ranging from our local police and fire departments to even our hometown baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles. What my father did not fully understand at the time was that I did not choose art—art chose me.

I had known this with certainty since the fourth grade. On the days we had art class, I was always the first student in line waiting for the period to begin and the last one to leave when it was over. Even then, art’s call on my life was unmistakable.

Academically, my preparation for the Maryland Institute College of Art began earlier during my years at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where I was exposed to a well-rounded artistic foundation. After college, I began my professional career as a freelance illustrator, creating illustrations and designs for various clients including Physical Therapy Today and Umoja Children greeting cards.

A few years later, I had the opportunity to work alongside a well-established artist—an experience that would redirect my artistic path. While continuing my freelance illustration and design work, I began focusing more intentionally on developing my fine art portfolio of drawings and paintings.

As a freelance artist, I valued the trust my clients placed in me to bring their visions and concepts to life. Yet I also discovered an indescribable freedom in creating a body of personal work—art that allowed me to express my own values, my culture, and my faith. Through this work, I seek to create art that ministers, motivates, and encourages.

Today, my artwork has been featured in numerous exhibitions and has been displayed at a variety of local and national art shows and festivals.

I often summarize my work in simple terms: I am a husband, a father, a man of faith, and a man of color. These are the experiences and identities that shape my perspective and inspire the stories I explore through my art.