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About the Artist
My interest in art started back when I
was about four. I made my 'mark' in the art world, so to
speak, on my neighbor's newly restored
red corvette convertible. I told him when I got older,
that he should have left it there, because
one day it would be 'worth something'. Anyways,
ever since then, I had an uncanny interest
in drawing, painting, finger paints, face paints,
white out, and of course, etching.
I won my first art contest when I was about
10. I painted a window scene for a local bank,
and I believe I won first place.
I even got about 20 bucks for my work, which was a lot
of money back then. My parents put
it in a trust fund for me. It's now accumulated about
$2.18 in interest. I promise not
to spend it all in one place. Since the 'win' at the
local
bank's contest, I went on to become well
known in sidewalk chalk drawing, wall drawing,
and mess making. All art related
of course.
As my artwork matured, I started taking
various art classes in my spare time (and there is
a whole lot of that when you are in middle
school). In high school, I met my match in Mrs.
Demond who gave me a well deserved "hard
time". I learned a lot from her,
especially that hard work pays off.
After her class, I made it my lifelong crusade
to never have less then an "A" in my future
field. I can say I've stayed pretty darned close to
that goal throughout the years.
As I continued on in high school, I received a lot of
encouragement from my teachers and peers,
and received various awards.
I placed several times in the annual student
art show; in various medias from ceramics
to drawing. I also won the school's
Christmas Card Contest in my senior year; my card was
used as the school's greeting, and mailed
out to all the appropriate educational related folk.
I decided that in college I would major
in art. This was obviously no surprise to those who
knew me. I concentrated in
painting, and it wasn't until I graduated that I realized that I would
first have to die to make any money as
a painter. I placed several times in the student show
at Towson University, but this only accomplished
personal satisfaction and 75 bucks at the
local art store. I think I did better
when I was 10! So, with a degree in Fine Arts, a
concentration in Painting, and an
'almost' minor in political science or british literature (could
have gone either way), I headed out to
the world of the working folk.
My first job out of college was at Best
Buy as a computer technical manager. I didn't do too
much art here. Although, I often
saw my boss running after me, saying "You're good at
drawing and stuff, aren't you??"
I did a lot of sign writing, printing and designing. A little
bit of experience here and there, but
alas, I was feeling suffocated without my art. So, while
I worked at the big blue, I went to school,
yet again, with now a different outlook on what I should
be majoring in. I thought, computers
+ art; this could be a real winner for me. I took classes in
Quark, Photoshop, and Macromedia Director,
and shortly thereafter, landed my first job as a
graphic artist where I currently work
to this day. I am the staff graphics designer,
working on transportation and engineering
graphics.
In my current spare time, I am working
my way through school yet again, this time as a
photographer. I have worked
through the black and white portions, and am now on my
way to learning color processing, and
creative photography. I have had a few freelance
photography projects, and have a few pending
in the future. My long term goals include
winning a contest that pays more than
$100, getting published in National Geographic
as a photographer, writing a world acclaimed
poem, and winning the nobel peace prize.