Hello! I just wanted to share with you all my most recent podcast interview with Deb and Sara from Raindrop Incorporated. This episode is a part of their Inspired Artist series and we delve into my personal background as well as what it means to work as a full time artist. I hope you enjoy this excellent conversation we had and I really hope it can help any artists who are looking to do their art full time someday.
Choosing Light | A New Terra Human Painting
My newest surreal hand painting “Choosing Light” has finally arrived!
Read moreMy Newest Painting | Sanctuary
The wait is finally over!
Read moreSneak Preview | New Double Exposure Portrait
For those of you who don’t follow me on social media, my current work in progress is an incredibly intricate double exposure portrait of my older sister.
Read moreMy Interview About Social Media as an Artist
Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Hannah on her podcast “My Hometown Artist” about social media and the role it plays in contemporary life as an artist.
How do you show your authentic self on social media?
How can you engage with your current audience as well as expand your following?
I talk about these topics and more in this episode below!
Click the player above to listen to the full episode
A Painting of My Wife
I started this piece two years ago but didn’t have time to photograph it and come up with a description until now. I posted this painting on February 17th to celebrate my wife’s birthday.
From the first moment that I met this person I could see that she was different from anyone I had ever met. Her level of self knowledge and confidence immediately drew me to her. From our first meeting I saw that she strongly knew who she was and not afraid to hide her values or identity from anyone.
Since our meeting I have had the pleasure of knowing this person and living life with her for 11 years and she has never ceased to impress and inspire me. Her relentless commitment to self-knowledge and self-improvement inspire me everyday to be a better person and to look out for the ones I love. And her excitement to learn about herself and the world around her makes me admire her even more. This person moves through the world with passion and vulnerability, while effortlessly encouraging others to do the same.
This is the strongest person I know and I am honored to share my life with her.
This piece is titled “Apricity” meaning the warmth of sun in the winter.
New Process Video for "Origins"
I hope you enjoy watching my new painting process video for my piece “Origins”. This video is part 4 out of 10 for my painting process videos for the LA Art Show with Abend Gallery! I created 10 5x5s for this show and I will be sharing each process video here on my channel!
Read moreNew Youtube Process Video "Colorado Majesty"
Welcome to part 3 out of 10 for my painting process videos for the LA Art Show with Abend Gallery! I created 10 5x5s for this show and I will be sharing each process video here on my channel! This piece is titled "Colorado Majesty" .
Read moreMy Newest Interview
I am honored to have been interviewed by Khallil Stewart from the Garden. A great social media platform for artists and creatives. I hope you enjoy hearing about my creative process as a professional artist and what influences my work.
Read moreNew Limited Edition Prints Available Now!
I’m really happy to say that limited edition prints of “Our Gentle Hands” are now available for purchase! This painting was hugely popular on my social media pages so I wanted everyone to have the option to purchase their very own print!
Each print is the exact size of the original painting (16”x20”) and each comes with a certificate of authenticity! There are 50 prints in this limited edition.
Art Crawl and Recent Sales!
Katy and I had such a great time at the Los Alamos Arts and Crafts Crawl this weekend! What amazing day of meeting new people and conversing about my art! 4 originals were sold and another piece was sold separately about a week before. Be sure to scroll down to see which paintings were sold! Thank you to everyone who came out and we look forward to doing more events and shows in the future!
The following paintings have been sold recently! “Hallett Peak” ,“Fade into Light” ,“Undefined” , “Sequence” and “Unspoken” thank you so much to the Los Alamos community for choosing to invest in my work, I’m incredibly grateful
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!
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!
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!
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.
Three Paintings Sold to a New Collector!
Hi everyone! I'm really happy to say "Surrender" "Impending Storm" and "Ghost Ranch" have all sold to a new collector! I always feel so fortunate when someone new finds my work and decides that they just have to have some of it in their home.
I want to give a special shoutout to the Los Alamos community for engaging in my work on facebook and welcoming me as a new small business. Their kind and welcoming words really help me feel like my art is connecting with people. I feel very luck to be a part of such a well-connected and engaging community!
Brand New Terra Human Painting | "Interconnection"
My final brand new painting for the "Contemporary Figuration" show at Abend Gallery is here! Say hello to "Interconnection" This lovely original painting is available on Abend's website. Click the button below to view this piece on the Abend webstite.
Here is the painting description: The world contained within this painting shows us blending seamlessly with the environments that we love. Every memory, emotion and thought that is contained within us is interwoven with those of the earth to create a single beauty. The immense highs and lows in our lives directly mimic the mountains and valleys in a way that shows the earth understands us to the core. The mountains listen to our thoughts and feelings while the stars comprehend our dreams and aspirations. The trees plants and animals grow and live for decades only to lose their lives and begin again in another form.
As a viewer we are allowed only a momentary glance at this world through a window so that we may contemplate our existence and what we wish to do with our time.
I'm Now Sponsored by TriArt!
I’m really excited to announce my official sponsorship with Tri Art Manufacturing! About a month ago Tri Art reached out to me with this great partnership idea and after using their excellent oil paints in some upcoming works I decided to sign with them!
So far I’ve really enjoyed using their paints for a number of reasons. The first being the excellent paint texture and color. Straight out of the tube these paints mix incredibly well and are very easily workable. Also I personally can get really frustrated with other paint tubes that build up dry paint near the cap but the Tri Art paint tubes don’t do this at all and tend to stay very clean.
Overall I’m super excited about this partnership and look-forward to exploring the rest of their excellent products! 😁
My First Podcast Interview!
My first podcast interview! I'm so happy to have been interviewed by the kind and insightful Christopher Syyap in his podcast the Creative Brick Road! Give it a listen if you have time! You can find it on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher and Youtube!
Here are the links for Youtube and Spotify!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEHVljpwElI&t=1s
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YpjIRtdJvXIPsGpw48WTF...
I'm so appreciative to have had this platform to talk about my artistic journey thus far and what I am looking forward to in the future!
Throwback Thursdays!
For today's Throwback Thursday I thought it would be a great opportunity to look back at all the paintings I've created so far this year!
Now it's safe to say that 2020 has been a rough year for most of us for a number of reasons but I cannot help by still be thankful for for the people who appreciate and buy art even when our world is so uncertain. I personally think that art can be a powerful catalyst for self reflection and introspection that can make a huge difference in our lives. And I feel like so many of you understand this as well and it makes me really grateful to have any sized following as long as they understand my message.
So as we push past the halfway mark of this year I hope that we can all seek to understand each other to the best of our abilities so that we can progress as a whole. Even though the world can potentially throw even more at us in the coming months I still look to the future with optimism because I believe in the power of art.
So thank you for all of your support so far in 2020! I hope that I can create even more amazing art in the second half of the year as well as connect with more artists and kind collectors!
For this week’s Throwback Thursday I thought it would be fun to look at two paintings with very similar compositions and subjects that are 3 years apart!
It’s pretty cool to see how my technique and observation of color has improved over the years, resulting in more vibrant paintings with more depth in my opinion. I love seeing these pieces side by side because even though I would consider one much better than the other because I can safely say that each painting was the result of my ABSOLUTE best effort at the time and that is something I can always be proud of.
When I’m creating a new painting it can be a really intimidating process and one of the ways I cope with this pressure is understanding that I don’t need the painting to be perfect, I just strive to make each painting better than the last. And honestly its okay if that doesn’t even happen either. There are many ups and downs when creating artwork and its totally fine when you try something and it doesn’t work.
Over these past few years I have been pushing myself inch by inch to create better artwork, trying not to ask too much of myself but always striving to get better. And its really been working for me and I encourage you do try this as well in other aspects of life. There is nothing wrong with taking small manageable steps towards your goals, it can keep your mental health in check and bring you to some amazing results over time!
I thought today’s Throwback would be a great opportunity to talk about what I feel is one of the more important themes in my work which is vulnerability in men.
I first started to explore this theme in my artwork back in 2017 with “Shelters Built on Men” a piece that explores the pressures we place on men in our society and how we build upon their backs expecting them to always be strong and unwavering. This piece served as a great transition into illustrating themes that have a strong significance in my life and address issues that are important to me.
As I’ve explored this theme over the years with several paintings I’ve started to think about the pressures we put on ourselves as men and the societal norm for us to hold in our feelings, fears and troubles. There are so many troubled men in our world who feel alone because they fear above all else the idea of being vulnerable with another person. They choose to suppress their emotions because they are afraid to feel what’s inside of them.
Exploring this theme can be rewarding yet difficult for me, because it not only makes me worry about the mental state of men in our society but also my own mental and emotional state. Am I being real with the people around me? Am I being real with myself?
But when I look outside myself and think about the men surrounding me in my life, they are the ones that brings me hope. When I think about the male friends and acquaintances in my life, I cannot help but see their incredible growth over the years that I’ve know them. These are people who are seeming to push against the perceived norm and are willing to be vulnerable with themselves and with people around them. They are pushing to learn more about what’s inside of them so that they can be better partners and friends. But most importantly they are being genuine with each other, sharing their struggles, anxieties and fears so that these emotions don’t bottle up and change them from the inside.
Cheers to these people in my life! You know who you are! Please know that I appreciate and celebrate you!
Thanks for reading!
"Walking Giants" Full Process Video!
I really hope you all enjoy this extensive process video showing how I created "Walking Giants." It not only takes a long time to complete a painting but it also takes plenty of additional time to create and edit a video showing how I made it. So I hope you enjoy watching this painting process and hopefully learn some things about my how I work and why I make certain decisions.
Personally it's almost therapeutic for me to look back on how I created a piece and record my thoughts in a video. I feel like I get to fully process the experience and share my insights with you!
This original piece is available for purchase directly from me! CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT IN MY SHOP!
"EVE" My Newest Terra Human Painting!
I'm incredibly excited to finally share my newest Terra Human painting with you all! This piece is titled “EVE” and has been by far the most complex painting I've made to date with very specific lighting, tricky color transitions semi translucent clothing and not to mention a full reflection of the intricate mountains in the water! 😯
It's safe to say that I'm really proud of myself for persevering through this process from start to finish even though there were times when I thought I bit off more than I could chew. Fun fact, I composed this piece on photoshop months ago but knew that I needed to develop my skills even more so that I could have a good shot at creating this. I think that the making of this piece really speaks to a character trait that I developed in my athletic career which is always expecting more of myself. I'm constantly raising my standards of what I can create and never settling for comfortability. I feel really fortunate to have learned that ones artistic abilities are not a fixed talent rather a skill that can be developed with the right discipline and patience.
Anyways, I hope you really enjoy this piece and please give it a like or comment if you do, it really helps me out.
Here is a full description of the piece. This painting is about our childhood. In our youth we had visceral and raw experiences with our natural world that gave us an appreciation for our surroundings and a humility for their potential. The oceans we swam in, the forests we gazed at and the mountains we climbed all gifted us with an emotional imprint that we will be stored in our hearts for the rest of our lives. And it is because we were young that we experienced these environments with such intensity. Our responsibilities were minimal, our thoughts were naive and our imaginations ran wild. We were small and new to the world so we moved though it with a curious spirit that encouraged us to explore and live in the moment. This childlike spirit is not lost though, it visits us whenever we go into nature and lose ourselves in its impossible beauty and power. When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable in this world and fully experience the environment that surrounds us we rekindle this playful spirit and allow it to walk along side us through a world that needs understanding and compassion more than ever.
UPDATE: This original painting has been sold but prints are available for purchase!
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.
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.