Interview

 1. When did you decide to become an artist?

I have been interested in art and illustration for as long as I can remember. There is no particular moment when I decided to become an artist, it was just the natural path I took.

2. Where did you train?

I received a bachelor of fine arts with an emphasis on graphic design from Montana State University. Most people would not expect a Montana school to have much of a design program, but it was actually very strong and competitive. I had some great design and illustration professors that got me headed in the right direction.

3. How did your training influence you?

For the most part, my training after school was just a personal passion for illustration. I moved to the coast and pursued opportunities to get involved with illustrating apparel graphics for some of the action sports companies in southern California.

4. Where do you get your ideas?

Well, they come from everywhere really, mostly they are strange random thoughts that pop into my head and I either write down a quite note a do a quick sketch to remember the idea.

5. What artist or artists inspired you?

Like every other young design who dreams of living on the coast, surfing and designing, I liked the work of David Carson. On the illustration side, I really liked the loose, gestural drawings of Ralph Steadman.

6. Is there symbolic imagery in your work?

I kind of have a strange thing for “mechanisms”, metal, pulleys, antique industrial structures and things of the like. I really like illustrating images that pull you in a make you follow them around to different depths.

7. What helped to shape you?

I think growing up in Montana and then moving to California for four years was very crucial, it exposed me to a much more dynamic design scene and also influenced the way I look at things. I am very thankful that I have strong roots in Montana, it is very real up there.
Working in the apparel industry has really opened my eyes to how quickly trends change and how much creative freedom you have to really push the limits of your art.
More recently, my wife and I just completed an eleven month tour of the US in our 19ft. Airstream Travel Trailer. That in itself was extremely influential on how I am going to live my life from here on out.

8. What medium do you use and how did you decide on this?

Mostly pen and ink. It is the basic form of illustration for me and gives me the most freedom. I do enjoy getting the paints out now and then and hope to do so more often in the future.

9. What do you hope to accomplish as an artist?
To simply keep on doing what I love, to not get into situations that burn me out and to hopefully inspire a couple people out there along the way.