Reflected Soul has been Sold!

I am incredibly proud to say that "Reflected Soul" has been sold!! And I want to take a moment to thank you all of my social media followers for your support over all of my platforms. Whenever you like, comment or share one of my paintings it GENUINELY helps my posts gain exposure to reach new people. Any time you take a moment to comment on one of my posts you help me expand my business and I really appreciate that!

This piece was such a big step for me seeing that it was my first circular painting ever! I was confident in my painting skills but was in unfamiliar territory with this new format and had to learn certain things on the fly (not to mention finding a custom frame 😬). I worked so hard on this painting and I am still having trouble comprehending that it's already hanging in someones home!
Thank you so much Abend Gallery for showing my work!

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"Dreaming Together" My Newest Commission

For this commission I was contacted by someone who was hoping I could create this beautiful scene as a wedding present for his son and soon to be daughter-in-law. This exact spot on Dream Lake is where the couple got engaged and so he thought this would make for a very meaningful painting for them as they started their lifelong journey together.

 
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I feel so fortunate that I was contacted about this project and that I was trusted to create this special piece on a tight timeline. I hope that this painting will bring joy to the happy couple as it hangs in their home for years to come.

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New Throwback Posts!

Hi all! I hope you enjoy this new batch of throwback posts from my social media accounts! It’s a little hard to stay super consistent with these posts but I always love putting them together when I can!

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Same artist different decade! This is a bit of a wild throwback for me considering that the 2011 photo was from my very first art show in my senior year of high school and the 2021 photo was for my first art show with a gallery as a professional artist. At this time in high school I thought I wanted to be an art teacher because I figured there was no way I could make it as a professional artist and I did enjoyed teaching so why not just compromise. But at the same time I was starting to develop a real and personal passion for art beyond the normal positive reinforcement one gets when they make a pretty picture. I was beginning to experiment and self motivate because I was excited for what I could create. And in the ensuing years I would start to see my art as a skill that I could practice and develop with hard worth and passion.
Honestly I feel like I have changed a lot in the last 10 years and I feel so fortunate to have people in my life that have supported my personal and professional growth with unwavering love. Success is not a race, we all find our own definition of success at our own time and I feel that something this important should not be rushed. Everyday I try to find a balance between patiences and persistence so that I can appreciate this exact moment but also find the motivation to work towards a future that I define for myself.
Thank you for reading!

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This is going to be a fun throwback Thursday post! Because believe it or not I’ve been using the same easel for almost 8 years now for many of my major projects and it’s time for a change! In the 2013 photo you will see that this easel came from Katy’s parents garage and they graciously set up a small painting space for me in said garage so that I could continue to develop my skills as an early art major in college. This gave me a space where I could be creative and work on some of my very first commissions and professional projects. Over the years this children’s easel became my primary working easel simply because it was familiar and served it purpose well at the time. This easel has been used in every studio and work space I have ever been in as well as a display easel for most of my festivals over the years. But as I have developed my technique and become more of a detailed painter it has become more difficult to use this easel because of its lack of adjustability and stability. And as you can see in the photo that I recreated in 2021 I’ve always had to hunch and lean in order to obtain those fine details that I love to create.
So it’s safe to say that it’s about time that I get a new easel! You can peep the next photo to see my brand new Richeson Dulce in all of its glory! Thank you @artisansantafe for special ordering this for me and being so communicative during this process. I’ve used this easel for almost a week now and I can’t tell you how nice it has been to adjust and customize it in order to make my painting experience more comfortable and enjoyable! I have no doubt that this will help my posture while painting for hours on end everyday haha! And overall I hope that this story can show that creators will always find a way to create, we don’t need the best tools or materials in order to do what we love, just give us time and encouragement! Thanks for reading!

My Brand New Easel!

My Brand New Easel!

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For this throwback post I wanted to address a topic that I struggle with and I’m sure many other artists struggle with as well. This topic being our very judgmental minds overly criticizing a piece of artwork too early in the process. This concept of this post may seem simple but trust me when I say that I have to remind myself at the start of every painting to turn off my critical mind and just work. If you start to be too critical of a piece before it even has time to grow you end up restricting yourself and cluttering your mind with unnecessary negative thoughts. Your art will evolve at it’s own pace and its up to you to be kind to yourself and nurture the piece as best as you can. Every piece of art you create will inevitably have an awkward phase and that’s just part of the creation process. Be kind to yourself and trust the process.

Recent Throwback Thursday Posts!

Hi friends, my throwback Thursday posts have continued on my Facebook and Instagram pages so I thought I would share some of the recent ones! These posts have been a great opportunity to reflect back on old work and so how my theme, techniques and concepts have changed and developed over the years. Enjoy!

 
 

Painting for my girlfriend vs Painting for my wife! Haha I thought this weeks TBT would be a fun opportunity to look way back at a painting I made for my girlfriend of just 3months who would eventually become my wife. In the summer after my freshman year of college I was extremely motivated to impress the new girl in my life with a personalized original oil painting! I was clearly still learning but was determined to make her something special. I decided to paint a view of Pikes Peak (a defining feature of her hometown, Colorado Springs) with some colorful and fluffy clouds which we both love.
Flash forward a few years to 2016 when I spent several months painting this enormous 4'x6' landscape painting of Crested Butte in my basement bedroom/studio so that she could hang it in her new home as her very own painting.
Now in 2020 I'm incredibly fortunate to be married to that girl and have this piece hanging in our home as a symbol of our dedication to one another. Just like art, our relationships take patience, dedication and a little bit of luck.

 
 

Here is a great Throwback Thursday comparing the initial sketch to the final product of "As One"!
It's no secret that this piece is one of my best paintings to date and I owe its success as well as many others to proper planning. This comparison of the sketch to the final product makes me think of how much I've come to rely on proper planning and prep for a piece so that I can fully create the image that captures the proper concept and mood.
I never used to plan out paintings very much and while this works great for other artists, I started to find that the more accuracy I could capture in my image, the more it would blend reality with a dream. So as the years have progressed I've done a lot more sketching, photoshop rendering and gridding of my paintings so that I can capture the image properly and then choose to deviate from it if I want. •
Overall the most beneficial preparation tool for me has been doing small painting studies before a final piece. If you follow my process you will see that before each Terra Human piece I will typically do a painting study of the landscape as well as the figure before attempting the final piece. This planning process helps me work out colors, shapes and proportions so that the final product can be beautiful and thought provoking.
I hope you enjoyed my reflections on this sketch to final product comparison!

 
 

When I posted this hand and tree sketch in 2018, it had gotten the MOST social media engagement that I had ever had at the time. And this shocked me because it wasn't even a painting! But I think it shows the strength in simplicity and the significance of a strong concept coming to life.
The hand and tree oil painting was a great achievement for me in understanding lights and shadows influence colors. I'm really proud of the realism I was able to obtain in this painting and I think it really helps the concept shine through.

"Hidden Meadow" | New Terra Human Painting!

Happy Friday everyone! I would like to introduce you to my newest Terra Human painting titled "Hidden Meadow"

I’ve spent this past month in quarantine painting this beauty! I’m not going to lie it was difficult at times to be working on such a daunting project while the there has been so much uncertainty in our world during this global pandemic. I definitely experienced days when I felt like it was all too much and I felt powerless and small. And something that brought me out of this darkness was knowing that small things done right really add up and I should focus on the things that were in my control. I could control how much time I painted/ worked and I could also control how much time I relaxed and took a moment for myself and my mental wellbeing. It has really been beneficial for me to look at my goals as marathons instead of sprints. I sometime's get so excited about the final result that I just want to run towards it as fast as I can, but I’ve learned that if I pace myself I will stay balanced and in control. Meaningful things take time and patience and that’s what I kept reminding myself while I was painting this piece.

So this painting is the result of over 50hours of patient work and planning. I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to read the description below.

 
 

This painting is about the places we go in times of distress in order to find peace and reassurance. These imaginary worlds can be made up of memories, images and emotions that bring us joy and comfort when we need it the most. We all have these types of locations in our memory and we retreat to them when the outside world can be too much for us to handle and we need to sit with our thoughts and emotions.

This painting illustrates what it looks like when we travel to this perfect spot in our mind, fall down into the soft trees and rest our eyes. Our bodies become one with our surroundings and the plants and animals grow and live in harmony with us without fear. We blend into the environment that we hold so dear to our heart and find a rejuvenated strength underneath the mountains. This strength allows us to stand back up despite the fear that is waiting for us on the other side and depart this comforting world with a level head and an accepting heart. 

I really hope you enjoy this new piece in my Terra Human series. This original painting is available for purchase! Click here if you would like to view this painting in my shop!

"Unguarded" A New Terra Human Piece

Hello friends, I want to share my newest Terra Human piece with you all! This 9”x12” is titled “Unguarded” and deals with themes of masculinity and mental health.

This piece depicts a man transitioning from who he was to who he wants to become. He was hardened by his upbringing in order to make him brave and emotionless so that he could weather any challenge and conquer any odds, but this had a cost. In order to become a fearless warrior this man learned not to feel. He suppressed his emotions, he ignored pain, and he refused to let down his guard in fear of compromising his masculine persona. He was told over and over again that this world was harsh and unforgiving so he needed to mimic these traits in order to get ahead.

 
 

Eventually he reached a breaking point because of the daily pressures he felt from his family, friends, and the society that surrounded him. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, and mundane tasks caused him immense stress and worry. This piece illustrates the tipping point where he starts to explore a mindset of vulnerability and self care.

The man in this piece is allowing himself to be flawed and broken so that he can reach out for help for the first time. Taking deep breaths he melds into the landscape around him and finally embraces the vulnerability that he avoided for so long. He starts to understand that being a warrior does not mean he needs to be so strong that he doesn’t feel rather it means that he needs to be strong enough to feel. Its natural for him to make mistakes, ask for help and feel sad at times. This is the beginning of his new journey towards self reflection and self worth.

I hope you enjoyed this in-depth description of “Unguarded” this piece has been sold but I have plenty other amazing Terra Human paintings in another section of my website. CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE!

Stanley Arts Festival Recap!

Well it’s safe to say that the Stanley Arts Festival in Aurora, CO was our most successful festival yet! I was so honored to be accepted to this Cherry Arts event and it did NOT disappoint! There were so many friendly and talented artists that graced us with their amazing creations. And what a great location for a festival! It was so nice to have indoor and outdoor booths and a dedicated parking lot for artists.

 
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This event was the debut of our homemade art walls and they worked great! They were not only sturdy but they looks awesome as well and served as a nice neutral backdrop for my paintings.

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I choose to paint live during this event because I have discovered that people love that! Passersby were awestruck when they saw me at the easel painting away and it created some great conversations. I also couldn’t help but hand the brush over to excited kiddos who were inspired by art. They were all very respectful and honored to contribute to the painting.

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I really enjoyed talking to people about my process both conceptually and practically. I also enjoyed talking to a current art student about an artistic career and what it involves.

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As i mentioned in my other blog post we had some sales with awesome new clients who really understood my art. These customers deeply resonated with the themes and concepts in my work and were happy to invest in a few original paintings.

Overall this was an excellent festival and we hope to participate again next year!

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Castle Rock Commission is Done!

My latest commission is done! I really enjoyed the tackling the challenges of this piece from it's massive scale, to the minuscule details of the houses to the fluffy clouds. Castle Rock is truly a beautiful area and I feel honored to recreate it as a painting. I hope you enjoy these photos and be sure to check out the time-lapse video at the bottom!

 
 
 
 

New Terra Human Study

Here is a new Terra Human study titled "Impending Storm" this piece explores how our internal world affects our external environment. As the storm develops and creates conflict in his mind so too does the storm gain power above him.

 
 

This piece started just as a figure study but while I was working on it I felt excited to push it further and experiment with it. I really enjoyed creating the environment around this figure and pushing my technique to make sure he seemed incorporated in it.

This piece is available to purchase for $250 in my online shop! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

"Seeking Balance" A New Terra Human Painting

Hi friends, my newest Terra Human piece has been finished! And I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some progress photos and talk about my process when creating this challenging painting!

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When I initially laid out my shapes I accidentally over-estimated some things like the length of the figure and the height of the mountains. So I then needed to reshape these components while also starting to figure out my colors. The unfortunate part of my figure was that my reference photo was obviously not in this sunset environment so I had to adjust the colors and shadows of her skin to make it appear that she is actually being lit by this sunset.

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A huge component of this piece was the figure’s face. Her head was tilted back and to the side so this created some very challenging perspective with her features. After several tries I was able to capture her features and move onto the lace in the dress. The intricate threads in this dress were challenging but worth the struggle. I used a very small brush with long bristles so that I could create long smooth strokes. After all of the controlled details it was nice to then add in some abstraction and expressive strokes to create some movement. Once I felt close to being done I took a break from the piece and ended up coming back to it to enhance some of the colors in the sky and trees.

 
 

After many hours of work this is our final result! This original painting is available to purchase in my online store for $850. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

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"Majestic Rockies" Has Been Sold!

I’m happy to say that “Majestic Rockies” has been sold!
I’m very pleased with how this study turned out and I’m so thrilled that if found a new home! 

 
 

Sometimes when I start small studies for large paintings I can’t help but bring them to completion because of my excitement. This piece was a great practice painting for a great Terra human piece which you can view by clicking HERE!

 
 

"Interior" A New Terra Human Painting!

I’m so happy to have just finished painting “Interior” a piece that explores the concept of our internal self, what is inside us and how we present it to the world. Creating this painting was very much a journey of overcoming self doubt and finding confidence. Once I finished creating the landscape background for this piece I was tempted to just leave the landscape as the final product and hope it would sell faster. After all, the progress shot I put on social media got a lot of attention and great feedback. But when I was debating this in my head I realized that while I love creating all sorts of paintings, my Terra Human pieces mean the most to me. These dream like figure/landscape paintings are the best outward expression of my internal thoughts and emotions and they need to be seen.

 
 

But even when I started blocking in the figure I still had doubts about how the final product would look and if it would stand up to my other pieces. I even considered painting over the figure and pretending this piece was only intended to be a landscape from the beginning. But I decided to take small manageable steps towards my goal which was to make this an amazing Terra Human piece. And while taking these steps I was able to change my mindset from a place of doubt to a place of confidence and exploration.

I decided to approach this painting knowing that it is okay if I fail even though I can be very afraid of failure at times. Overall I’m really proud of this piece and I’m glad that every new painting brings a new journey of self-discovery.

This original painting is available for $500 CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

"Undefined" in His New Frame!

I really love framing pieces when I can because I just seems to add another level of aesthetic and finality to the piece. Not to mention it helps possible buyers envision how the painting would look in their own home. I am specifically happy with the image of this piece and the overall look and feel of it. I really wanted this painting to show emotion and a sort of longing.

 
 

Once I framed this piece and then took photos of it for social media, I noticed how drastically the light changes the look of it. These photos were taking with warm colored lights in the room and they seemed to give the piece an golden look.

This original painting is available for $230 CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

Rocky Mountain Winter Painting

Here is a little landscape study of a spot in Rocky Mountain National Park. I just love the contrast of the snow against the beautiful red rocks!

I especially loved working on this piece because it was a great lesson on how to capture a snowy atmosphere that shows distance.

 
 

I really loved capturing the detail on the trees in the foreground and the way the snow piles up in certain places.

This original painting is available for $120 CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

New Terra Human Painting!

I have finally finished a new large Terra Human painting!
I'm so proud of what I have accomplish in this painting and I hope you all enjoy it! This piece explores the concept of an uninhibited imagination and the willingness to fulfill a vision.

Click HERE to view other Terra Human paintings!

In the beginning stages it was very crucial to block in all of the major shapes and make sure the proportions of the figure were correct. This resulted in me re-working the figure once because I initially made here too large.

I the middle stages I was focused on filling in colors as much as I could was starting to add value and textures to things like the trees, curtains and robe. I took a lot of time to focus on shadows so that the piece looked as realistic as possible within a surreal setting.

In the final stages I spent a lot of time on the woman’s skin tone so that she not only looked realistic but had a personality to her. I also worked on adding sharp contrast to the image while also cleaning up any spots that lacked detail. This stage can be quite maddening because I can always find little things to fix and it can be very difficult to decide when the piece is finished.

But never the less I got to the finish line! This very complex image was a great challenge that pushed my observational skills to a new level. To me this piece symbolizes grace, tranquility and a respect for imagination.

This piece is currently available to purchase! Click HERE to view it in the shop!

"Old Mill" Fall Landscape Finished!

I’m very happy to have finished my latest fall landscape featuring Crystal Mill! This piece was a great exercise in clearly rendering a foreground, middle ground and background while creating a strong focal point. This location makes for a great image because of the interesting structure of the mill and the way it fits so nicely into the surrounding landscape

 
 

While creating this piece I really enjoyed jumping around to different spots of the painting to add details and colors. I have gotten so used to rendering figures that its nice to just focus on a landscape and have fun with the slow and steady process.

This 12”x16” oil painting is available for $170. Click HERE to purchase!