I use traditional media to illustrate novel concepts that illuminate the magical, mysterious, and majestic aspects of everything from the mundane to the extraordinary. From star-studded horses to owls in funny hats, my original art is sometimes epic, sometimes intimate, but always with an essential element of fantasy. For a comprehensive gallery of illustrations, prints, and commission information, check out the Pictures page.
In the beginning
Some of my earliest memories are of drawing in a sketchbook. Sometimes I drew things in front of me, like my mother’s pet parrot. Sometimes I drew things I wanted to be in front of me, like horses. I didn’t have horses as a kid, but I loved them, and so I would draw them over and over in my sketchbooks. They are still some of my favorite things to draw.
And then there were comics
My parents actively encouraged me to draw, I think because it distracted me from less-desirable activities like asking for a horse or carrying my little brother around by his ankles. More importantly they were functionally supportive in the department of purchasing art supplies, cleaning supplies, and eventually finished pieces of art. They also got me lots of books. I was slow to learn to read, and so comics were my format of choice until I was about twelve. Calvin & Hobbes, Tintin, and Asterix and Obelix, and later The Far Side all played important roles in my development as a cartoonist. But these paled in comparison to the impact of Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2 on my mental landscape. I read a couple volumes of each and decided that English-language Manga was an excellent medium for telling stories, and immediately set about creating my own. That was Angeldevil, followed closely by my collaboration with my brother (no longer so little) on The Iron Wizard and finally Year of the God-Fox, after which I realized that at the rate I produced comics it would take me much longer than I could reasonably expect to live to tell a quarter of the stories I’d already thought up (and more kept appearing daily), so I switched from comics to illustrated fiction. I still love the comic medium, however, and my current project is the Valdelluna children’s book.
But always there’s art
Most of the art I produce is illustrative of some sort of story—either one I’ve already written, or one I’m working on, or one I didn’t think of until I did a picture of it. I find drawing helpful in fleshing out characters, settings, and plots. But sometimes I just want to paint a thing, and that can turn out pretty fabulous too.
My favorite medium is probably colored pencils, but I also use watercolor, oil paint, brush pens, and—when all else fails—a Wacom tablet and Pixelmator pro to fix things up.
Keep an eye on the Pictures page for more of my work, or head over to the shop to buy prints and support me making more of it!
