I was born and raised in Indiana, and I still live in Indiana. Oh, I've lived in other states. I lived in Georgia and Texas when I served in the Army. Short career. Military life isn't for creative types. Too many rules. Too many bosses. And I lived in Nevada when I was working at a Casino. I had to "get away" from Indiana. You know, stretch my wings, live my own life, I gotta be me. Well, it turns out being me is best done in Indiana after all, so here I am back home again in Indiana.
All of my hobbies are art related, or at least I make them art related. I've started to make furniture, I paint rocks, I sculpt, and I'm trying to find time to take up pottery.
My likes and dislikes? I like art. I dislike anything that keeps me from making art.
I like Disc Golf. I like kids. They're so open to new things, and its fun to try and get them to believe really silly things.
Why do I want to illustrate children's books? Fun. Freedom. Appreciative audience. I get to play. I mean how much fun would it be to illustrate a plumbers manual, and is the plumber really going to read it? More than once? Will it make him smile? Or cause him to make believe he's a brave and valiant piece of copper pipe? I don't think so. At least I wouldn't want that particular plumber working in my house.
I've been freelancing for almost 10 years. I've been full time self-employed for the past 3 years. I illustrate children's work books, short stories meant to teach children English as a second language, greeting cards, design decorative items for the inside and outside of your house, I paint rocks, I sculpt. I try everything.
Currently my focus is to get into children's books. I'll be teaching a class on cartooning at the Art Barn in August. I'm going to New York this month to Meet with the people at Sesame Street to attend a class on drawing the Sesame Street characters.