A Brief Bio

 

I was born red/green colorblind in McPherson, Kansas in 1979 and moved to Chicago in 2002. Because of a beautiful coincidence in 2006, I created my first screen print. It was wondrous – for the first time ever I was able to put my artistic visions onto paper. My process of creation is based upon using my conscious and unconscious mind working in unison to visually create an intense emotion or complex thought that I'm experiencing. The challenge of being red/green colorblind was difficult for me to conquer. I’ve overcome this by relying on value more than I rely on color. I often do studies to get a color that’s similar to what I envision in my mind and then I’ll mix the ink in small amounts until I get a color worth producing. I create all my work in my studio, which is also my kitchen and living room. My friends, family, dreams and music are all very important to me. If it weren’t for those four things I’d never create my work.

 

 

Artist Statement

 

Inspiration. It's not not something you can summon upon demand.

 

In my early work, I found it in music, feelings, and life experiences. I found great reward in taking the intangible passions and feelings that people share in music and translating them to a physical form. As time progressed I found that these pieces created a visual diary of my life, an atlas of the emotional terrain I had traveled.

 

Later, I found myself looking for new sources of inspiration. I chased different passions down alleys and through doorways, only to finally track it down in the most personal of places. It was quietly lurking in that mysterious space between waking-life and dreams, hiding in plain sight. As I fall asleep, I sometimes have what I call "silent film animations". These silent films play in a stop-motion fashion behind my eyelids. I see them vividly. The imagery ranges from children playing on swing sets to odd looking elderly men spinning chairs above their heads. Once I became aware of these films I began to consciously collect the imagery in my mind to later reproduce in my art.