Painting Up for Auction for Charity!

Hi everyone! I'm excited to be donating my original painting "Cascade" to Connected Through HeArt who will be auctioning it off at the end of September! All proceeds will be going to the Humane Society!

Connected Through HeArt was started in May of this year by two precocious Colorado girls who wanted to help their community through art and I'm very happy to be working with them as their first featured guest artist! Use this link to visit their website!

https://sites.google.com/.../con.../featured-guest-artist...

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

My Newest Figure Painting!

My newest figure piece is officially available! I'm really proud of how this one turned out and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
✅This 8"x10" original piece is available for $350 in my online shop. CLIKC HERE TO PURCHASE!

 
 

" A Fleeting Moment" This piece visualizes the significance of a moment and how important it is for us to pay attention. There are so many moments in our lives when the stars seem to align into something beautiful that can change the way you look at the world if you let it. There may be times in your life when, for whatever reason the light it just right, the sounds are soothing, the environment is stunning and the people you are with are perfect as they are and all of these things collide into a blissful fleeting instant that can bring you inexplicable joy and humility.

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Please take the time to recognize these moments because they will bring you a deeper understanding of yourself and the people and places that surround you.

New Figure Painting!

During my summer in New Mexico I was able to schedule a few photo sessions with a few locals, in hopes to add to my library of references for potential paintings. And this painting is the first result of one of those sessions! I really enjoyed working with Emma to create some interesting photo references for future paintings. I especially loved the photos near the end of a cliff that had an amazing view. I really enjoyed photographing her in front of the trees and plants that created an interesting and dynamic backdrop.

 
 

I’m planning on creating plenty more paintings from these photo sessions but I just had to share this great piece with you all! It’s titled “Finding Distance” and is available to purchase in my shop for $300!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

Daily Figure Studies

Hi friends, so recently I was inspired by another artist to aim for painting a figure study everyday in order to push my skills and experiment with new techniques. And while I haven’t been able to create a new one everyday it’s been a great way to take a break from a long project and work on my rendering skills. Here are a few pics of my recent studies along with time-lapse videos showing their process!

Accepted to the Stanley Arts Festival!

Hi friends, I'm happy to announced that I've been accepted to the Stanley Arts Festival in Denver this coming September!

Last year I wasn't accepted to this great festival so it's really nice to feel an improvement!

 
 

I will be able to share more details closer to the event, but this should be a great festival! After all it’s produced by Cherry Creek Arts!

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Works in Progress

Hello everyone, I just thought I would share two progress photos of some paintings I’m currently working on! The photo on the left is the face of a 18”x24” Terra Human painting that is almost done! The photo on the right is a shot of a smaller Terra Human study that I’ve enjoyed working on.

Both of these paintings should be done this week and I’m excited to share the final results!

Terra Human Study

I am very happy to have just finished this great little Terra Human study. Up until now my typical habit has been to create separate landscape and figure studies in order to better understand each component but I thought it would be fun to approach a Terra Human painting as a study. I wanted to do this because my Terra Human pieces have become much more involved than they used to be in accordance with my ever developing skills and drive to make each piece better than the last. And I have found myself quite intimidated when starting a large Terra Human painting because I know that I will push myself to make each new painting more visually and emotionally compelling. And while I do really enjoy creating these time-intensive projects I also need to find a space to play around with my Terra Human concepts and imagery in a low stress environment.

 
 

So I hope to create more quick studies like this one where I can lay out an image and practice my technique without diving into a larger long-term project.

This original painting is available for $100 CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!

In Washington for the Holidays

Hi friends, as I’m sure all of you know, the holidays can be a very busy time so I haven’t been able to update my website recently. I’m still calculating the donation for ACE Scholarships but my rough estimate is over $300!

Anyways I wanted to share a few photos with you of me working on some small paintings while in Bainbridge with my family.

Here is a close up of a small study I did overlooking the Puget Sound, it was a great challenge to capture the light and how it affected the clouds and water.

 
 

New Painting Style

So I've been experimenting with a new style that I am hoping will stick! This style consists of loose brush strokes, geometric stylization and an emphasis on texture. I am hoping to primarily apply this style to my Terra Human series because I think it will fit nicely and can portray the emotions and humanism that are inherent in a figure.

In my exploration of this new style I have decided to recreate my original small painting titled "Sensitive." The concept of this piece is very personal to me and I feel like I can really do the image justice by making it bigger and more emotive. The photo below is a progress picture of me working on this piece. I am already really excited about the look of it and I cannot wait to see where it goes!

New Painting Finished!

The sunrise in this piece was based off a photo I took in Yellowstone National Park during our road trip last summer. The sun had just peaked over the trees and was shrouded in mist from the river below. 

I think my favorite thing about this piece and the original scene if the mood. The mist and the water below the figure make it feel so quiet and serene. As if these scene takes place before all the birds and animals are awake and you feel secluded and safe.

Like most of my other Terra Human paintings, this piece started with the figure and from there I added the background nature components. I enjoy starting with the figure because I want to human to be the focus of the image and I usually spend most of my time working on the figure and adding detail.

Here is the photoshopped version that I created before the painting. I can see some difference that we choices that I made and some that were mistakes. Once I am finished with a piece I always see things that I can change and adjust but sometimes you need to just allow a painting to exist for what it is and try to improve on the next one.

New Commissioned Paintings!

A few months ago I was very happy to be contacted by a friend asking for two custom paintings as a surprise birthday present for his girlfriend (my very close friend). I really enjoyed working on this project for a few reasons. The first reason being that I couldn't wait to see the reaction on my friend's face when she saw the paintings. The second being this was my first official pet portrait and I was excited to render her very cute dog. And the third and very significant reason I enjoyed this project was that the client had put so much thought into this idea and trusted me to execute it well.

I love to have very emotionally driven commissions because it increases my investment in the project and makes me remember why I created art when I was a child, to make people happy.

Landscape Creation Process

 
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Framed Thoughts

When getting "Trapped in Light"  framed, I was forced to think about it’s concept more and more and I started to really understand how much it related to me. This concept of being in a societal spotlight has always been something I have been aware of. from a young age I have been a performer in someways, I always wanted to impress people with my athletic or artistic skills to that I could get their approval. This search for other people’s approval led me to develop my skills more and more so that I could constantly impress.

Now this is something that I am acutely aware of and try to understand, but I think it is crucial for me to be aware of the origin of my artistic passion. The origin being a search for other peoples approval, the origin being a performance for others. In my current work I really try to strike a balance between what I want and what others want but this is a very difficult like to walk. Because in someway you always have to have your consumer in mind if you want to sell any art at all. The art that I create cannot be just for me because I want other people to experience it and understand it as well. 

Arrived in New Mexico!

 
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Katy and I have arrived in New Mexico! And I can already tell that the dynamic landscapes here will be a huge inspiration for my work this summer. At the moment I am finishing up two commissioned paintings so once they are done I will jump into some new projects featuring the surrounding landscapes.

A huge artistic inspiration for me is how nature makes me feel. When I am immersed in a natural setting I have this odd combination of feeling alone yet comforted. I can feel the lively presence of nature around me and its humbling power while being separated from people.

I feel as if I have an ongoing relationship with nature and when I am experienceing it I fell rejuvenated and reacquainted.