I've always loved drawing, writing, and photography, but started to teach myself more seriously when I was ten - observing others' works, classic and current, and breaking down their construction, internally, like puzzles, reproducing methods I enjoyed in my works. Eventually, people started to notice and encourage me and express interest in my work, and would share with me the impact it had on them, the more that I learned and grew. Even though I was not earning money at that time, I count those years as successful, because our impact on people is what forms our legacy as individuals. As they say, "You can't take it with you, when you go."
As an adult, I educated myself in the basics while earning my Education degree, and opened this account to connect with other artists and expose myself to more beautiful styles and approaches. More recently, I've received interest from others, both familiar and strangers in commissioning my work, ranging from event slideshows (weddings, funerals, etc.) to book covers and illustrations. This drove me to follow where I felt God was leading me, to pursue opportunity more than stability. A decision I have to say I am glad I stuck with. I am grateful to have the opportunity to pursue my passion in a way that benefits my family financially and health-wise, and to have the ability to customize the structure of my business in a way that will enable me to collaborate with and support the passions of other artists, as well.
My hope is that my art, beyond being fulfilling for me to create, providing a new and exciting adventure for my family, and allowing me to awaken others' dreams in a concrete way, will continue to speak to other people's hearts and minds, and increasingly so as I develop as an artist.
Favourite Visual Artist
Leonardo Da Vinci
Favourite Movies
Phantom of the Opera, V for Vendetta, Behind Enemy Lines, The Professional, Chronicles of Riddick, The Dark Knight, and Unbreakable
Favourite TV Shows
Snapped, NCIS, Lie to Me, Supernatural, Criminal Minds, 48Hours, and the Hitchcock Hour
Favourite Bands / Musical Artists
valdes.music (seriously, look her up on instagram), Flyleaf, Lana del Rey, Feist, Ella Fitzgerald, Ingrid Michaelson, Florence and the Machine, Circa Survive, the Xx, Phantogram, Evanescence, JJ Heller, JesusMovement, and United
Favourite Books
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Katrinka by Helen Eggleston Haskell, If I Could Save Rhyme In A Bottle, Catch a Rhyming Star, both by E. Faye Dyer-Austin, and Hold Onto Love by Molly Hunter
Favourite Writers
Jane Austen, Molly Hunter, E. Faye Dyer-Austin, Janette Oke, Beverly Cleary, Louis L'Amour, Beverly Lewis, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and my father and older brother
Favourite Games
Left for Dead 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Sims 3 w/ expansions, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Batman: Arkham City (as Catwoman), DOA 3, Need for Speed: Undercover, Crazy Taxi, Civilizations 3, D&D, Twister, and Are You a Werewolf
Favourite Gaming Platform
Xbox One
Tools of the Trade
Drawing: Whatever is in my craft drawer, old cardboard, blank newspaper pages, my tablet, scanner, GIMP. Singing: home-made pop filter, webcam's mic, Audacity. Writing: Microsoft Word, Google Drive. Photography: 24.2 MP Nikon DSLR Camera.
Other Interests
Basketball, Embroidery, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Genealogy, and several others.