Actually, it should be more about how I met the airbrush, because that is where my career began.
I was born an artist, most likely having spent 9 months drawing cave paintings in the womb. My mother had incredible talent. She was creative in all ways and mastered graphite portraits of horses and many nature infused sketches in her own time for her own pleasure and curiosity. She was the driving force behind who I am today as an artist because of her encouragement.
My father is a writer, a poet, a gardener, a dreamer.
Always with a camera by his side and a poetic verse, it is no wonder that that too is what drove me.
I grew up running barefoot through the woods, following streams, finding wonder in every part of the mother earth, every patch of moss, every creature, every color in the sky. Many of these days were following my big brother around which I often wonder how he felt about as he went fishing with me splashing about and upturning stones looking for crawfish. So, who I am as an artist all comes from that foundation.
Then one day I met the airbrush.
I picked it up as a hobby and never looked back. I always drew but now I had a new tool and was painting with color and a magic wand. I began airbrushing T shirts at fairs as a hobby. After a year, I left my job as manager of an art store and went out full time.... for 15 YEARS! I painted fearlessly in what I call the Front Lines, whatever anyone wanted. The experience I gained is unbelievable! Not just as an artist but as a business person. I was working at a fast pace closely with clients from all realms and handling business on my own. I was painting on every surface in every style according to the orders. Clothing, murals, motorcycles, trucks, boats, skin, wood, Human and pet portraits, skulls and crossbones, caricatures, backdrops and table décor for birthday and Christmas parties, I had no fear. I could not have imagined that I would have come this far.
Then I opened my first studio.
I got out of the t shirt business and began working on canvas. Another 4 studios and 20 some odd years later, I am currently working on a collection of original pieces for reproduction and licensing while I continue to create one of a kind commissions.
I am eternally grateful for the people I have met along the way, for their guidance and encouragement. For the clients that never doubted me with their requests. For the path that I chose as an artist, a photographer, a writer and a gardener. It is the essence of who I am and I can finally feel comfortable claiming it as my own.
