Things have been pretty quiet on my blog. This month I’ve been hard at work getting ready for my solo exhibition in Jasper, IN. At the end of April I'm making the trek over to Indiana to deliver nearly forty of my collages for the May exhibition. I'll also run my first-ever collage workshop at the Jasper Arts Center. I’m planning to review a brief history of collage as an art form with attendees and then focus on making a few small collage projects.

And lastly, I keep mentioning that I’m working on my first children’s book (writing and illustrating it). Just yesterday I finished the last illustration for the project, however I'll need to go back in and edit a few of the pieces before I can really call them "complete." Overall, it should take me a month or so to finish editing and planning the layout for the book. And once I put together the layout for the cover, I’ll post it here so you can get a glimpse of the main characters.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

What’s your favorite color?
Blue. You can probably tell when you take a look at my artwork. Blue shows up again and again. Often times, if I’m working on a portrait and I’m not sure what color to use for a person's shirt, I’ll just default to blue. I’ve also created a series of animal collages where I used an arbitrary color scheme – making the animals blue.

What other media do you like to use besides collage?
Collage is by far my favorite, although I’m interested in dabbling in film and animation. In the future, I may take some classes so I can get a better idea of the technical skills I’ll need in both areas.

I used to enjoy painting, but over time I drifted away from it. Below are a few of the paintings I did while in high school and college.

Do you do anything else for a living besides being an artist?
Yes - I work on the websites for a couple of nonprofits. After graduating from college in 2008, and in the midst of the recession, I realized I needed to teach myself a few skills that I didn’t gain from studying creative writing and painting in school. So I read several tutorials, watched how-to videos online, and taught myself the necessary software and coding for putting together websites.

The design and problem-solving aspects of working on websites is why I like it so much. And the skills I’ve taught myself for non-studio-art-related-work have really helped me when it comes to promoting my art. Thanks to my studies, I was able to design the logo and layout for my website, and also be my own webmaster.

What are your hobbies?
Daydreaming and storytelling. Reading and learning about technology. Exploring new cities. Learning new things. Being an avid watcher of Netflix Instant Watch Movies. Living the creative life.

What do you think is the most inspiring place to visit?
Anywhere, really. If I'm in the mood or if I'm visiting someplace new for the first time, it's amazing how inspired you can get just by looking at the scenery with a fresh pair of eyes.

Bosty noticed some of the neighborhood dogs were being walked, and demanded that I take him for a walk as well. It was a gorgeous day outside, why not go out and enjoy the warm weather?

He loved taking a look at all the spring flowers that were blossoming.

He even found some flowers that he decided to name "Bosty Flowers" because they were purple just like him.

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling down the city streets, imagining what the people were like that lived in the colorful townhouses.

Yesterday I gallery sat at the Del Ray Artisans' for their "It's Only Rock n' Roll, But I Like It!" exhibition. The show features work inspired by musicians, bands, instruments, and anything music-related.


When I arrived at the gallery, I was pleased to see that my "Guitar" collage had sold. A local purchased it during the opening reception about a week ago.


It was dreary outside, but the gallery sure looked great.

People who know me often comment on my work ethic. How do I manage to work on my artwork just about every day of the week, have a web-related day job, and have time for hobbies and, well, everything else? First and foremost I’d have to say that my love for the arts is what drives me. I also have a strong interest in learning new things and I’m constantly working on different ways of improving my work and myself. This passion for the arts is why I work so hard and why not getting very much sleep every night doesn’t really bother me. I’ve figured why not work really hard and do as much as I can while I’m young. I also have this mentality that I can't wait for opportunities to magically appear for me - I need to put in the work to make them happen.


Lastly, I must admit that the negativity that I’ve encountered in my life motivates me to prove those negative forces wrong. Rejection comes with the territory with being an artist, as well as hearing negative views from others about the arts. Instead of giving up when I hit a negative wall, I get momentarily irritated before getting over the irritation and moving on to work harder. And at the moment this has worked for me. I manage to turn these negative experiences into something positive for my art career.