About me

I was born in Phoenix, AZ. I now reside in Texas. Yee-haw!  My mother was in the Air force so we moved a lot in my early years. I think of myself as a dreamer. I always want to see more.  There is no ceiling to learning.  I take that stance with just about everything. 

I took my first art class when I was in 8th grade. However,  I started drawing dragons and various mythical beasts on my school book covers and class folders since 6th grade. At the time I was heavy in to comics and fantasy novels. I was a bundle of intense creative energy! My drawing craze coincided with my fledgling attempts at writing fantasy. I still have many of those early works.  Despite my youth I think I was doing pretty good... By the time I was in High School I was  completely immersed in my world of fantasy and adventure.

When I graduated from High School (1996) I enrolled at the Colorado Institute of Art.  I wasn't sure what to expect. Could I bring along my love for fantasy in to the world of Graphic Design?  I sure as hell tried! In the beginning I was stubborn.  I had to unlearn a lot of old habits and incorporate new ones in to my creative process. I was learning about computers and 2-D design as well as aspects of art that I had not yet encountered. In the end I graduated with a 3.2 (3.6 if it wasn't for Math - Curse you Algebra!)

During all this I had grown rather fond of Japanese animation.  For a long time I wasn't sure if I could ever draw in such a fashion.  I was really set on the 'fantasy realism' of my favorite artists of the time. But over time and with some practice I managed something close to it. ^_^  Some of my inspirations:

Boris Vallejo - Julie Bell

Brom

My anime inspirations come in many forms.  There are dozens of artists that I like and just as many if not more styles of manga and anime that I like.  I've visited Japan - a life long dream - and seen first hand what I'm up against.  Not that I'm trying to compete.  It just opened my eyes to the plethora of options I had as an aspiring fantasy artist.  I'm always learning new things and I hope to reach my goal some day.  What is that?  Well, for now it's to market my art and my stories. I'm not exactly sure how, but I can do it.  It's just a matter of recourses and will power.  Tally-Ho! Pictures of Japan: