Who, What and Why
The Artist
I've been creating art in some fashion since I can remember. I was always getting in trouble for drawing all over my toys, room and body. Other then making art I enjoy watching others create. For the past few years I have been teaching art to kids from 2 to 13 years old. Watching the students create is so inspiring to me. If not for them, I would not have the courage to put my own art out in the world.
Classic Children's Series
Growing up I struggled with reading. I craved to ingest the stories on the pages, but the words made no sense. It would take me weeks or months to finish a book, if I even finished. I would have to read pages over and over to fully understand the story so I'd doodle on the margins to keep myself from getting bored. Later I was diagnosed with dyslexia and learned tips to make reading easier. Overtime, I was able to enjoy books the way I always wanted to, but continued to doodling.
This series is inspired by my love for the written word and visual imagery. In this series I have merged mediums by mixing the softness of color pencils with the graphic edge of ink pens and/or markers. In some pieces in this series oil pastels are used. By mixing these mediums I can create images with bold and vibrant colors.
The books included in this series are currently The Secret Garden, The Call of The Wild, Charlotte's Web, Bridge to Terabithia and Little Women. All books are up-cycled from local thrift stores.
Collages
When I was in middle school I started fulling composition notebooks with doodles and cut out pictures from magazines. By high school my notebooks were filled with photos of friends and pictures from magazines surrounded or covered by drawings and text. I continue this some tradition of filling sketchbooks with my collages, but with much better supplies.
Landscapes
I love going into nature, for a few hours, days or weeks (if I can make the time) to clear my head. I take in all the colors, lights and textures of my surroundings. From the the mountains of Oregon to the Greenbelt of Texas I truly love exploring this beautiful country. My goal is to create art in all 50 states
Cats and Dogs
My love for dogs and cats runs deep. I was that weird kid who doodled dogs and cats all over there binders, jeans and arms. Now I'm that same weird adult who has found such joy in drawing cute images of dogs and cats. This series highlights the joys of these silly, energetic, weird creatures.