What about me? Let’s see, I was born in 1969. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and spent most of my life in and around the Chicagoland area. I lived in New Orleans for a few years, which is such a crazy, wonderful place, and the seafood was incredible. I’ve spent the last 13 years, living in southern California.
My childhood was a blend of Comic Books, Saturday morning cartoons, Star Wars figures, Wacky Packages, Horror Movies, Shogun Warriors, a lot of baseball, KISS, and the discovery of dirty magazines.
I’ve been drawing since as far back as I can remember. I remember thinking that every kid could draw like me, until I started hearing things like, “I wish I could draw like that” and “dude, draw KISS for me.” I received my first award in Art in the first grade (I still have it). It was the first time in my life that I realized what I was, I was an artist.
Music has also been a big part of my life. In the early 90’s, I was the singer for the band, Mr. Yuk! We got to play a lot of great venues all over Chicago including the Metro and the Avalon. It was a blast, but as many musicians know, it’s hard to keep four people on the same page.
After the band broke up, I decided to go headlong back into the art world. I decided to get my Associates Degree at the American Academy of Art, where I learned a lot of old school disciplines. They taught me that I had to learn all the rules before I started breaking them. After getting my degree, my teachers basically told me, all I have to do now, is get out there and paint. So since 1993, I’ve been painting my life away.
Some of the artists that have inspired and influenced my journey thus far include: H.R. Giger, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Ivan Albright, Dorothea Tanning, Hieronymus Bosch, Jean Michel Basquiat, Robert Williams, Pieter Bruegal, Johannes Vermeer, Francis Bacon, Mark Ryden, Greg Simkins, Chris Mars, Todd Schorr, and Joe Sorren, to name (quite) a few.
So, how would I describe my work? That’s still a tough question for me. Let’s just say, I paint surrealistic mind’s eye abstractions in the key of beautiful absurdity. My work is very spontaneous, very detailed, and very textured.
My work has been exhibited and collected by people, all over the world. And that is my favorite part about being an artist, knowing that my paintings are interacting in someone else’s life. They get to tell their stories to the eyes of others, and that just makes me happy. So, thank you for staring.
B.