When I was young, Jim Henson was my biggest influence. I thought of becoming a set designer, so I built furnished worlds inside shoeboxes. Everything was anthropomorphized. I later found appreciation in drawing some comics and illustrating scenes. I discovered Moebius, a master comic artist, by accident and emulated his unique and fearless visual storytelling.
I later went to school at Ohio University, focusing on Ornithology and Entomology for my Bachelor’s degree. I am a visual learner, so I drew pictures to take notes when I could. A grad student saw these and had me hired to illustrate for a paleo-botanist. I drew bones and plants in the basement of a repurposed mental asylum the university acquired. This led to many illustration jobs with other professors, grad students, and a student-rag (newspaper).
Different careers have informed my work. The illustration trade was changing to digital, but I picked up creative work where I could. I worked as the ceramics and crafting lead at a boys camp in North Carolina, spent 2 years in the Peace Corps, and contracted as a NOAA fisheries observer in Alaska. During each of these adventures, I found ways to apply my creative skillset.
Here in Seattle, most of my energy tends to focus on oil paintings, but I stay very active in the arts community. I have been the volunteer artwork curator at Lighthouse Roasters for many years. I have taught at many of the art schools in the Seattle area and sometimes teach workshops in the region. I have painted murals around the city and was awarded a public art contract at a community center through the Mayor’s Office of Art & Cultural Affairs 1% for Art. I am generally a restless soul who tries to give my best to the world.