Sugar Skull #13 Collage

I began to draw at a young age, I taught myself while in math class and social studies. I was constantly drawing and I simply didn’t have much interest in any other subjects. I was a below average student, however, I was a straight A art student. After High school I had little interest in a formal art education, yet in an effort to appease those around me I did entertain the idea for a couple of years before making a conscious decision to drop out and travel the world in lieu of an art degree and explore my own methods of self-education. Aside from my vagabond type of lifestyle my twenties and thirties were spent learning many things which have proven to be useless at this point in my life, such as how to carve an apple into a pipe or how to consume a “bar mistake” quickly without being seen by management. after years traveling to many beautiful and exotic countries, my artistic expression began to bubble up and overflow out of me like a geyser. Around that time I had my first child. I was in my 40's and things changed quickly. My once so-called hobby turned into a full-time career in two years short years. I find it important to evolve as an artist and being a constructive self-critic is an important part of that process for me. There is a part of me that never wants to be truly satisfied with my work for fear of becoming complacent and out-dated. I believe it's important to maintain a humble perspective of oneself and constantly pursue more knowledge and experience within the arts, while pushing my own boundaries just a little each time. I believe banality can kill inspiration therefore I always set aside time in the studio to experiment and keep my creative spirit excited and inspired about what I am creating.