Talking About Myself

I'm a lifelong resident of Washington state, living in Olympia since 2004. This part of the country allows you to live a suburban life near the edge of civilization, where deep woods and large bodies of water are as close and accessible as the shopping mall. I love everything this area provides.

Most of my artwork is done in black pen on white paper, existing somewhere between fine art and illustration. Terms like these are of little personal significance, as "drawing" is a good enough description of what I do. I'm self-taught and cut off from the traditional art world, though I'm too self-aware to let my work be categorized as "outsider art." My creative ties come from a long-term interest in esoteric music, transgressive art, and the natural connections of life.

I'm in love with animals both wild and tame. A lifetime spent with cats and now my handsome Chihuahua Batty keep my domestic life in check. I come from a wonderful family of independent thinkers and my friends are honest and imaginative people, never letting me get away with anything while continually inspiring and reinforcing everything I value.

I've devoted my personal life to fitness and spiritual discipline, but most importantly, humor. The more absurd the humor is, the more open and authentic the world feels to me. I'm also a big fan of the NFL.

Currently I'm writing research-based analysis of the Sicilian-American mafia phenomenon through newsletter/blog articles. This subject manages to cover a spectrum of human life that isn't often revealed in movies and television. My approach is incredibly niche and intended for those with a similar passion for mafia history, though I attempt to make this dense and detailed collection of information as accessible as possible.

I remain astonished and impressed with life on earth and I'm humbled by the time and place in which I live as well as the people I know. I can't imagine wasting any time.

Reconciling Two Worlds

Born in December 1985, I came of age right as the world was shifting to digital dominance and through sheer curiosity developed skills in web development, graphic design, and other new technology. I explored digital art during that time mainly as a technical exercise, but couldn't shake the idea that my artwork was meant to be a physical creation. My personal taste is the greatest influence on what I do and I prefer artwork that still shows the residue of a human hand.

Digital technology has remained interesting to me, more as a means of communicating what already exists in the material world than an end unto itself. Regardless, I've made it a point to accept all of it, seeing the digital world as another dimension of nature even if its aesthetics are not my first preference.

Having a website to show my work has always felt natural. I've enjoyed building websites for my ideas since I was a teenager and this one is no exception. It can't replace the hands-on experience, but I can't imagine a more convenient way to share my body of work with anyone who has even a fleeting interest in looking at it.

I've spent my entire adult life thinking about nature and technology, both in opposition and cooperation. Through deliberate use and honesty of spirit, I believe the old world of nature and the new world of technology can be reconciled in ways that are more constructive than destructive, more natural than unnatural. This "homepage" is a way for me to digitally communicate who I am and what I do in physical reality, though it's also an expression unto itself in a new reality that is no less an illusion than the material world.

We can inhabit technology just as we walk through the woods or swim in a lake. I love the organic flow of nature and how it contrasts with the right angles we impose on it, as well as the way nature imposes itself on us and shakes us of our assumptions and arrogance. Technology does this to us, too, and though we take credit for its creation, it is still from the earth and subject to the laws of nature. All of our tools and ideas are.

Roots of Inspiration

I grew up drawing macho characters — cowboys, pro-wrestlers, soldiers, NFL players, and comic book heroes, soon graduating to nihilistic MTV cartoons and enigmatic anti-heroes. Whatever I was interested in was reflected in my boyhood art and recognizable figures fit in perfectly alongside unique characters from my own imagination.

During my teenage years I was fortunate to discover underground art and music — so-called "subcultures" — where the obscure and esoteric were explored in ways that were impossible to experience elsewhere. As both a fan and participant, underground art was like finding a real life "choose your own adventure" novel. The ideas in and around heavy metal, experimental music, and other odd corners of culture gave my natural inclinations an outlet that remains today.

My drawings aren't defined by subcultures or genres, but the cultural underground gave me a foundation I can't deny. I've met invaluable friends and received international support via these interests and I wouldn't be who I am without them. Hobbies and interests come and go, but the connection to quality people is an inspiration that never goes away.

I still hear the echoes of boyhood and draw whatever I feel like, sometimes giving into impulse at the expense of "quality" but in those moments I feel the pure pleasure of drawing. Other times I feel limited by the visual style and patterns I've fallen into over the years, even when the result is technically satisfactory. There are always trade-offs. What keeps the fire alive is when I surprise myself. No amount of experience can manufacture that and inexperience doesn't guarantee it. That's what keeps me drawing.

Some work I do has a story or meaning, though I'm not fond of making specific "artist statements." However, not making a statement is an artist statement unto itself, and so the dilemma goes. The idea behind a given drawing is better left unexplained, even to me, and much of it comes from intuitive mysticism, personal paganism, and the border between the surreal and practical. It's where the boringly transcendental meets the magically mundane, which it turns out are the same thing. How's that for a statement? The simplest description of why I do what I do is that I get strength from both the process and result.

Boyhood Artwork: