Nine scenes, told from the beginning.
What really kicks things off in my story is the ghostly haunting that my mom and I had to deal with when I was a toddler. My mother’s best friend, named Sandy, who lived next door and across the hall, was plagued by the ghost of a supposed creepy old uncle. We lived in the upstairs apartment with southern-facing windows, but even with ample sunlight coming in, there would always be a foreboding dark “gloom” over everything.
My mom would say she felt like someone, or something, was constantly watching her. The phenomenon escalated when she heard me screaming one night from my crib in the next room. She ran in to see me in distress and pointing at this translucent gray patchwork quilt floating over my bed.
She grabbed me out of the crib and yelled for the floating quilt to get out of here, which it did… right back through the wall toward Sandy’s place across the hall. At this point, my mother was fed up and wanted to get rid of whatever this thing was. A trip to the local library found contact information for a parapsychologist in New York City named Dr. Osis. Promptly calling his office, he stated that she could simply tell the entity to leave. When my mom arrived back home, she did just that: demanded that this thing leave the premises and that it was not wanted there. The gloom proceeded to lift, and whatever that thing was that had been plaguing us was definitely gone.
This brush with the paranormal happened just a couple of years before “Ghostbusters” premiered in theaters in 1984. When I saw the movie in 1985 at a babysitter’s home, I was hooked. Not being afraid of the things that go “bump in the night,” but rather embracing them. “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon defined my childhood with toys, imagination, spooky fun, adventures with family, and camaraderie with neighborhood friends.
Creativity has really been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. At the age of five years old is where some prominent memories unfold of a detailed side-view Crayon drawing of a car that I did, with wires going from the battery to different parts like the headlights and taillights. It was during these early years that the positive remarks from teachers, peers, and loved ones really fortified the idea that I was an artist.
From first grade up to fifth grade laid the foundation for my life as a budding artist, with doodling on my test papers and drawing Ghostbusters adventures in my notebooks. I was tasked with special creative projects by the art teacher who saw my potential and won first place in a full-sized “Skeleton Drawing Contest” in fifth grade.
Middle school saw my drawings added into a school calendar, slightly more intense art classes, and being tasked with the design of a “Peer Mediation Group” logo. For over 30 years, the school still used the logo until it was retired a few years back.
When high school began, I had already been known as a spectacular artist amongst my peers. My friend’s sister was a senior during my freshman year and, knowing the caliber of my skill, gave me the task of putting a custom illustration into the first issue of the school newspaper.
It was during the four years of high school that I became interested in the Image comic book series called “Spawn,” with page artwork by Greg Capullo. A gritty style of art that I began to implement into my own creations.
During the last years of high school was when I realized that my style had plateaued, where I wasn’t getting any better or worse. That’s when, after graduation, I set my sights on the four-year education at The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. I learned the vital skills of deadlines, gesture drawings, professional design, composition, and commercial art methods, defining the clean composition of each illustration that I continue to use to this day. I was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration in 2004.
Fresh out of college, I landed a job at a screen printing company. Initially, for the first couple of years, I was screen printing thousands of t-shirts a week. With the artistic skill that I displayed, they moved me to the lead designer position, where I would digitally create artwork for various clients’ apparel, modify pre-made clip art, hand-draw designs to be made into screens for printing, and prepare the screens for image burning.
While working in the field of apparel design, I also entered into the field of paranormal investigation, illustrated artwork collaboration for a mutual friend’s published roleplaying game called “Beyond Mere Mortals,” as well as commissioned art for multiple clients.
The major defining moment in my artistic career was when I was let go from the screen printing company after 10 years of working for them. My artistic style had dwindled in a monumentally changing creative landscape while I worked with continual digital clip art needed for apparel design.
Now, with some time on my hands, I set my sights on The Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Design in Dover, New Jersey, to continue my artistic journey. I moved out to the East Coast for a three-year program with a strict work schedule of 10 classes a week, 10 art projects a week, and strict deadlines for 8 months over the three years. This schooling tempered my style into a competently profitable creative way of life.
The forces that shaped the work.
Not being afraid of the things that go “bump in the night,” but rather embracing them.
“The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon defined my childhood with toys, imagination, spooky fun, adventures with family, and camaraderie with neighborhood friends.
“The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon defined my childhood with toys, imagination, spooky fun, adventures with family, and camaraderie with neighborhood friends.
“The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon defined my childhood with toys, imagination, spooky fun, adventures with family, and camaraderie with neighborhood friends.
The job of a professional illustrator is to solve problems. You have the vision; we have a solution that we will map out for you to see.
I was tasked with special creative projects by the art teacher who saw my potential and won first place in a full-sized “Skeleton Drawing Contest” in fifth grade.
Middle school saw my drawings added into a school calendar, slightly more intense art classes, and being tasked with the design of a “Peer Mediation Group” logo. For over 30 years, the school still used the logo until it was retired a few years back.
I was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration in 2004.
Fresh out of college, I landed a job at a screen printing company. With the artistic skill that I displayed, they moved me to the lead designer position, where I would digitally create artwork for various clients’ apparel, modify pre-made clip art, hand-draw designs to be made into screens for printing, and prepare the screens for image burning.
While working in the field of apparel design, I also entered into the field of paranormal investigation, illustrated artwork collaboration for a mutual friend’s published roleplaying game called “Beyond Mere Mortals,” as well as commissioned art for multiple clients.
Since then, I have been on this path of betterment in art and design, where I continue to bring artistic creations to life. I have illustrated countless commissions for clients, friends, and professionals, followed deadlines for two more roleplaying card games and books, hand-painted custom illustrations for clients, and continued creating prints to sell at shows, which are available here.
